• Esteban M Repetto, Lucía Fernandez, Roberto Lambertini, Ana Del Valle Jaen, Verónica Ruda Vega, Sofía Moldes, Ruben Lutfi, Claudio Aranda, Eduardo Faure, and Adriana Oneto.
• Centro de Diagnóstico Tomografía Computada Buenos Aires (TCBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina. E-mail: erepetto@fmed.uba.ar.
• Medicina (B Aires). 2023 Jan 1; 83 (4): 505513505-513.

IntroductionMolecular alterations in follicular cells in the BRAF or NRAS genes have been reported to be associated with the process of carcinogenesis. Our aim was to determine the mutational frequency of BRAF and NRAS in fine-needle aspiration (FNA) specimens in our population.MethodsThe mutational status of BRAF (codon 600) and NRAS (codon 61) was analysed by qPCR in 193 FNA specimens from suspicious nodules and compared with pathological data of 115 patients.ResultsBRAF mutation was identified in 40 samples (74.1%) of FNAs classified as Bethesda VI (n = 54). In samples histologically diagnosed as classic papillary thyroid carcinoma (cPTC, n = 47), mutation was observed in 70% of cases, while in other subtypes the prevalence was lower (p = 0.013). In FNA specimens of follicular lesions (n = 36), positivity for NRAS was found in 50% of the follicular carcinomas (FTCs), but only in 6.7% of adenomas. Finally, there was a significant correlation between BRAF and PTC with lymph-node metastasis (p = 0.014) and increased relative risk of recurrence based on the Argentine Intersociety Consensus (RR = 6.77, p = 0.022). No significant differences were found between BRAF mutation and other features of aggressiveness in PTC.ConclusionBRAF and NRAS mutations are observed in a significant number of PTCs and FTCs, in our population. There is a significant correlation between BRAF mutation and lymph-node metastasis.

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