Assessing the utility of a mutational assay for B-RAF as an adjunct to conventional fine needle aspiration of the thyroid gland

Adv Anat Pathol. 2006 Sep;13(5):228-37. doi: 10.1097/01.pap.0000213044.23823.d3.

Abstract

Thyroid carcinoma is the most common endocrine malignancy; it is typified by a number of classical genomic insults, which tend to cluster with the discrete histologic subtypes. The most common of these is a mutation in B-RAF, which is present in approximately 44% (29% to 83%) of cases. In this review we have assessed the potential utility of a molecular test for somatically acquired mutations in B-RAF using thyroid malignancy as a model system according to 3 fundamental questions: would a test enhance our ability to distinguish benign from malignant, would a test unveil a risk factor not otherwise known, and would detecting a mutation enable a therapeutic option specific to those patients who carry the mutation?

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Age Factors
  • Biopsy, Fine-Needle
  • DNA Mutational Analysis*
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Mutation
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf / genetics*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf / metabolism*
  • Risk Factors
  • Thyroid Gland / surgery
  • Thyroid Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Thyroid Neoplasms / genetics*

Substances

  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf