Context: The oncogenic BRAFV600E mutation has been frequently associated with aggressive behavior of papillary thyroid carcinomas. However, controversy exists on the consistency of these data, and very little is known about the relationship between this genetic alteration and the tendency of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) to develop metastasis at distant sites.
Study design: We analyzed by direct sequencing the frequency of BRAFV600E mutation within a group of 47 highly aggressive PTC, which had developed distant metastases. As control, we analyzed the BRAFV600E mutation in a group of 75 PTC without distant metastases who were disease free for a minimum 7-yr follow-up.
Results: The BRAFV600E mutation was present in 29.8% of the distantly metastatic PTC, whereas it was detected in about 44.0% of the control tumors.
Conclusion: These results clearly prove that the BRAFV600E mutation is not associated with the development of distant metastases or fatal outcome in PTC and may not predict aggressive behavior in this type of tumor.