Title:BRAF Status in Papillary Microcarcinomas of the Thyroid Gland: a Brief Review
Volume: 19
Issue: 9
Author(s): Antonio Ieni*, Roberto Vita, Roberta Cardia , Giuseppe Giuffré, Salvatore Benvenga and Giovanni Tuccari
Affiliation:
- Department of Human Pathology "Gaetano Barresi" - Section of Pathological Anatomy, A.O.U. Polyclinic G.Martino, 98125 Messina,Italy
Keywords:
Thyroid papillary microcarcinoma, cancer, prognosis, BRAF, mutation.
Abstract:
Papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) is defined by the World Health
Organization as papillary cancer measuring 10 mm or less in diameter. Generally,
PTMC shows an indolent clinical behavior with a good prognosis, although a minority of
PTMC is characterized by an aggressive course. However, efforts to identify this
aggressive subset of PTMC after surgery remain inconclusive.
Several oncogenic pathways have been identified in thyroid cancer and have been
applied translationally to improve prognosis and clinical management. In particular, the
BRAFV600E mutation was found more frequently in large, aggressive, recurrent and
advanced tumors.
We aimed at reviewing studies on BRAFV600E mutation as a prognostic factor in PTMC.