Retrospective study of BRAFV600E mutation and CT features of papillary thyroid carcinoma

Objective This study aimed to examine the correlation between BRAF V600E status and computed tomography (CT) imaging characteristics in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and determine if suspicious CT imaging features could predict BRAF V600E status. Methods This retrospective study included patients with pathologically confirmed PTC at the Department of Thyroid Surgery of Zhongshan Hospital, Xiamen University, between July 2020 and June 2022. We compared the clinicopathologic factors and CT findings of nodules with and without the mutation, and the multiple logistical regression test was used to determine independent parameters of the BRAF V600E mutation. Results This study included 381 patients with PTC, among them, BRAF V600E mutation was detected in 314 patients (82.4%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that gender (OR = 0.542, 95% CI [0.296–0.993], P = 0.047) and shape (OR = 0.510, 95% CI [0.275–0.944], P = 0.032) were associated with BRAF V600E mutation. Conclusions Compared to BRAF V600E mutation-negative, BRAF V600E -positive PTC lesions were more likely to be found in female patients and were characterized by irregular shape. However, the CT imaging finding is not enough to predict BRAF V600E status, but an indication.