BRAF V600E and TERT Promoter Mutations in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma in Chinese Patients.

BACKGROUND:The BRAF V600E and telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter mutations have been reported in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). The aim of this retrospective cross-sectional study was to add further information regarding the prevalence of the BRAF V600E and TERT promoter mutations in Chinese PTC and their clinicopathological associations. METHODS:We detected the BRAF V600E mutation and TERT promoter mutations in 455 Chinese PTC patients and analyzed the association of these mutations with several clinicopathological features. RESULTS:The BRAF V600E mutation was detected in 343 (75.4%) of 455 cases and was significantly associated with older age (p<0.001) and conventional subtype (p = 0.003). TERT promoter mutations were detected in 19 (4.4%) of 434 PTCs and were associated with older age (p<0.001), larger tumor size (p = 0.024), and advanced TNM stage(p