Objective: This study aims to study the clinical value of fine needle aspiration (FNA) combined with BRAFV600E gene mutation detection in diagnosing thyroid nodules.
Methods: A total of 153 patients with thyroid nodules were performed cytological test by FNA and detected the gene mutation of puncture samples by RAF(V600E), as well as compared with the postoperative pathological results.
Results: Among 153 malignant cases, 132 cases were positive and 21 cases were negative for FNA, and 99 cases had BRAF(V600E) mutation. Among 22 benign cases, 4 cases were positive and 18 cases were negative for FNA, and no case had BRAF(V600E) mutation. Compared with the postoperative pathological results, the sensitivity was 86.0%, the specificity was 82.3%, and the accuracy was 87.4% for FNA. The sensitivity of BRAF mutation detection was 64.8%, the specificity was 100.0%, and the accuracy was 64.8%. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of FNA-BRAF(V600E) in diagnosing thyroid cancer were 90.2% (141/153), 82.3% (18/22), and 85.4% (149/175), respectively, which were higher than those obtained by single BRAF(V600E) gene mutation detection, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). The sensitivity of FNA-BRAF(V600E) mutation detection was higher than single FNA (P<0.05).
Conclusions: The combination of FNA-BRAF(V600E) mutation detection can improve the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity against benign and malignant thyroid nodules.