BRAF and KRAS mutations in papillary thyroid carcinoma in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Background Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common malignant thyroid neoplasm comprising 80-90% of all thyroid malignancies. Molecular changes in thyroid follicular cells are likely associated with the development of PTC. Mutations in serine/threonine-protein kinase (BRAF) and Rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (RAS) are commonly seen in PTC. Methods In total, 90 cases of PTC are randomly selected from archive paraffin blocks and 10μm sections were cut and processed for DNA extraction. BRAF V600E mutation and 8 types of KRAS mutations were investigated using Real Time PCR. Results BRAF V600E mutation was identified in 46% of PTC while KRAS mutations were seen in 11% of PTC. There was significant correlation between BRAF V600E mutation and PTC larger than 5cm in diameter, positive surgical margin and lymph node metastasis. BRAF V600E mutation was significantly higher in patients with less than 55-year of age than those more than 55-year of age. BRAF V600E mutation was significantly higher in patients with family history of thyroid cancer than those without. There was no significant difference in BRAF V600E mutation between males and females, PTC classic and follicular variants, unifocal and multifocal PTC. There was a significant higher percentage of BRAF V600E mutation in classic PTC than papillary microcarcinoma variant. There was no significant age, gender, histologic type, tumor size, lymph node metastasis, tumor focality, and surgical margin status differences between KRAS mutated and non-mutated PTC.

Predictors and a Prediction Model for Central Cervical Lymph Node Metastasis in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma (cN0)

“…BRAF is one of the three RAF genes of serine/threonine kinase (ARAF, BRAF, and CRAF), which is involved in signaling growth. BRAF is an important player in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway ( 43 ). The incidence of BRAF V600E mutations has been reported to be 29%–69% in PTC ( 44 ).…”

Genetic Landscape of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma and Nuclear Architecture: An Overview Comparing Pediatric and Adult Populations

“…In PTC from the adult population, the most prevalent mutation is found within exon 15 of the BRAF gene. The thymine to adenine transversion at nucleotide position 1799 (T1799A), which results in a valine to glutamate substitution at residue 600 (V600E), occurs in about 27-83% of PTC cases (Table 2) [100,[102][103][104][105][106][107]. The BRAF K601E point mutation, which display lower oncogenic activity than BRAF V600E in vitro, is more frequently associated with FVPTC [164].…”

Decline in radioiodine use but not total thyroidectomy in thyroid cancer patients treated in the United Arab Emirates - A retrospective study

“…Management of thyroid cancer (TC) has significantly changed in the last decade with several guidelines advocating for a conservative approach in the majority of patients [ 1 , 2 ]. While these changes resulted in lower rates of total thyroidectomy and radioiodine administration in some parts of the world [ 3 , 4 ], data on TC from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has largely focused on incidence, characteristics, and treatment outcomes with recent exploration of TC genetics [ [5] , [6] , [7] , [8] , [9] , [10] , [11] , [12] ]. Little is known about the trend in TC management in this region.…”