Clinicopathologic significance of <i>BRAF</i> V600E mutation in papillary carcinomas of the thyroid

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>BACKGROUND.</jats:title><jats:p>Numerous studies have investigated the clinical significance of <jats:italic>BRAF</jats:italic> mutation in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). However, there have been conflicting data on the usefulness of <jats:italic>BRAF</jats:italic> mutation as a prognostic marker of PTC. To address this controversy, the frequency of the <jats:italic>BRAF</jats:italic> mutation and the associations between <jats:italic>BRAF</jats:italic> mutation and clinicopathologic parameters in PTC were evaluated by meta‐analysis.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>METHODS.</jats:title><jats:p>The relevant published studies were reviewed according to the defined selection criteria. The effect sizes of outcome parameters were estimated by odds ratio or weighted mean difference.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>RESULTS.</jats:title><jats:p>The current meta‐analysis included 12 studies with a total of 1168 patients. The frequency of the <jats:italic>BRAF</jats:italic> mutation was 49%. The <jats:italic>BRAF</jats:italic> mutation was associated with histologic subtype, the presence of extrathyroidal extension, and higher clinical stage, but not with age, sex, race, or tumor size.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>CONCLUSIONS.</jats:title><jats:p>The effect of the <jats:italic>BRAF</jats:italic> mutation on the poor prognosis of PTC patients was evident from the current meta‐analysis. The detection of the <jats:italic>BRAF</jats:italic> mutation may be used as an important prognostic marker of patients with PTC. Cancer 2007. © 2007 American Cancer Society.</jats:p></jats:sec>