Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30863114›Full record

ArticleOncoTargets and therapy2019

BRAF mutation in cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules: after reclassification of a variant thyroid carcinoma.

Warut Pongsapich, Cheerasook Chongkolwatana, Naravat Poungvarin, Kanchana Amornpichetkul, Nutthaya Piyawattayakorn, Pichpisith Vejvisithsakul, Prachya Maneeprasopchoke

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in OncoTargets and therapy, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Warut PongsapichDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10700, Thailand, prachya.man@mahidol.ac.th.
Cheerasook ChongkolwatanaDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10700, Thailand, prachya.man@mahidol.ac.th.
Naravat PoungvarinDepartment of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10700, Thailand.
Kanchana AmornpichetkulDepartment of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10700, Thailand.
Nutthaya PiyawattayakornDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10700, Thailand, prachya.man@mahidol.ac.th.
Pichpisith VejvisithsakulDepartment of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10700, Thailand.
Prachya ManeeprasopchokeDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10700, Thailand, prachya.man@mahidol.ac.th.
Siriraj Hospital · TH

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeFine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is regarded by the Bethesda system as the gold-standard investigation for stratifying the risk of malignancy of a thyroid nodule. However, some limitations affect the adequacy of the obtained materials, resulting in 30% of the cytological results remaining in the indeterminate category. We aimed to investigate the diagnostic value of the BRAF mutation in cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules after the reclassification of a variant thyroid carcinoma. PATIENTS AND

methodsIn this prospective diagnostic study, 76 patients with FNAB findings of atypia of undetermined significance (AUS) and suspicious for malignancy (SUS) were included. The BRAF V600 mutation from FNAB was confirmed by a PCR-based method (Sanger sequencing combined with allele-specific real-time PCR techniques) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Pathological specimens and features, including noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features (NIFTP), were reviewed and compared to the FNAB results.

resultsUsing the PCR-based method, the BRAF mutation was positive in 13/76 cases (17.1%), with the diagnostic values of 16.7% sensitivity, 100% specificity, 100% positive predictive value (PPV), and 82.8% negative predictive value (NPV) in the AUS compared to 73.3% sensitivity, 100% specificity, 100% PPV, and 20% NPV in the SUS. For the IHC technique, only 20 of the 76 cytological specimens were qualified for testing. The BRAF mutation was positive in 13/20 cases, with the diagnostic values of 100% sensitivity, 63.6% specificity, 42.9% PPV, and 100% NPV in the AUS compared to 100% sensitivity and PPV in the SUS. The BRAF mutation was not found in the pathological reports for NIFTP.

conclusionThe malignancy rate is high in our data, with specific and acceptable accuracy rates for the BRAF mutation from FNAB found by using the PCR-based method. NIFTP has been introduced after the pathological reclassification. Molecular diagnosis might be useful to establish the nature of the disease.

Indexed as

BRAF mutationfine-needle aspirationindeterminate thyroid nodulesNIFTPnoninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear featurespapillary thyroid carcinomaThailand

Identifiers

PMID30863114
PMCPMC6391130
OpenAlexW2915764181

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.