Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34702207›Full record

ArticleBMC cancer2021

Utility of droplet digital polymerase chain reaction for TERT and BRAF mutational profiling of thyroid nodules.

Brandon R Rosvall, Morris Kostiuk, Jordana Williams, Ashlee Matkin, Jeffrey Harris, Hadi Seikaly, Daniel A O'Connell, Vincent L Biron

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC cancer, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 39% 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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Clinical Implications and Application of Molecular Testing in the Diagnosis and Management of Thyroid Nodules in the Chinese Population.Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research · 2025
    Observational
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

8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Brandon R RosvallDivision of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, 1E4 Walter Mackenzie Center, 8440 112 St, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2B7, Canada.
Morris KostiukDivision of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, 1E4 Walter Mackenzie Center, 8440 112 St, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2B7, Canada.
Jordana WilliamsDivision of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, 1E4 Walter Mackenzie Center, 8440 112 St, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2B7, Canada.
Ashlee MatkinDivision of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Jeffrey HarrisDivision of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, 1E4 Walter Mackenzie Center, 8440 112 St, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2B7, Canada.
Hadi SeikalyDivision of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, 1E4 Walter Mackenzie Center, 8440 112 St, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2B7, Canada.
Daniel A O'ConnellDivision of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, 1E4 Walter Mackenzie Center, 8440 112 St, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2B7, Canada.
Vincent L BironDivision of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, 1E4 Walter Mackenzie Center, 8440 112 St, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2B7, Canada. vbiron@ualberta.ca.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7661-5277
University of Alberta · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMutations involving BRAF and TERT are important predictors of disease severity in thyroid cancer, but molecular testing is limited by cost and lack of adequate tissue sample. This study aimed to assess the utility of BRAFV600E and TERT testing using droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) as a diagnostic and prognostic tool for thyroid fine needle aspirate biopsy (FNAB).

methodsPatients with thyroid nodules were prospectively enrolled from March 2015 to September 2018. Pre-operative FNAB was collected for standard cytology and molecular testing. BRAFV600E and TERT levels were analyzed by ddPCR. Cytology (Bethesda system) and ddPCR results were correlated to surgical pathology.

resultsA total of 222 patients were enrolled, of which 124 received thyroid surgery. Pre-operative cytology alone with Bethesda ≥5 was 100% specific and 70% sensitive for malignancy on final surgical pathology. BRAFV600E positivity or TERT overexpression was 100% specific and 60.0% sensitive. Combining cytology (Bethesda ≥5) with BRAFV600E and TERT testing increased the sensitivity of a malignant diagnosis to 80.0%. High TERT levels and/or BRAFV600E was associated with aggressive or advanced stage pathology.

conclusionsCombining cytology with ddPCR analysis of BRAFV600E and TERT can improve the diagnostic accuracy of thyroid FNAB, and help predict aggressive pathology.

Indexed as

FemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedMutationPolymerase Chain ReactionProto-Oncogene Proteins B-rafTelomeraseThyroid NoduleProto-Oncogene Proteins B-rafTelomeraseTERT protein, humanBRAFCancerCytologyddPCRMolecularMutationOncologyPCRTERTThyroid

Identifiers

PMID34702207
PMCPMC8547072
OpenAlexW3210625977

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

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.