Study of peripheral BRAF^V600E mutation as a possible novel marker for papillary thyroid carcinomas

Background The BRAF^V600E mutation can be detected peripherally in the serum of patients with thyroid cancer. The purpose of this study was to establish the value of detecting the peripheral BRAF^V600E mutation as a serum tumor marker in this population. Methods In this study, we obtained 94 serum samples from patients with papillary thyroid cancer positive for the BRAF^V600E mutation in the tumor itself. The serum samples were analyzed for BRAF^V600E mutation using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results Sixty-seven patients (71.3%) had papillary thyroid microcarcinoma and 26 patients (27.7%) had underlying lymphocytic thyroiditis. Forty-three patients (45.7%) were found to have stage III or stage IV thyroid cancer. None of the patients had a detectable serum BRAF^V600E mutation. Conclusion We were unable to identify peripheral BRAF^V600E mutations in patients with papillary thyroid cancer using real-time PCR. Further studies will be needed to validate our results using various diagnostic methods.