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Utility of BRAF mutation detection in fine‐needle aspiration biopsy samples read as “suspicious for papillary thyroid carcinoma”
Author(s) -
Jara Sebastian M.,
Bhatnagar Ramneesh,
Guan Hui,
Gocke Christopher D.,
Ali Syed Z.,
Tufano Ralph P.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/hed.23829
Subject(s) - medicine , thyroidectomy , thyroid carcinoma , fine needle aspiration , biopsy , histopathology , cytology , thyroid , radiology , carcinoma , predictive value , pathology
Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic utility of BRAF mutation testing on thyroid nodules “suspicious for papillary thyroid carcinoma” (PTC) cytology. Methods A chart review of patients with fine‐needle aspiration (FNA) results “suspicious for PTC” with subsequent thyroidectomy was performed. Corresponding archived FNA slides underwent BRAF mutation testing. Results Sixty‐six patients with FNA “suspicious for PTC” underwent thyroidectomy. Forty‐two (63.6%) had PTC diagnosed on final histopathology, whereas 21 (31.8%) had benign findings. Thirty‐five patients (83%) with histologically proven PTC underwent total thyroidectomy, whereas 7 (17%) underwent hemithyroidectomy. BRAF mutation was detected in 17 of 49 samples (34.6%) available for testing and had 45.5% sensitivity, 87.5% specificity, 88.2% positive predictive value (PPV), and 43.8% negative predictive value (NPV) for diagnosing PTC. Two of 4 patients (50%) who underwent hemithyroidectomy with subsequent completion thyroidectomy had mutated BRAF detected. Conclusion BRAF testing is a useful adjunct to improve PPV for patients with “suspicious for PTC” cytology. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 37: 1788–1793, 2015