BRAF mutation in the elderly submitted to thyroidectomy.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the frequency of the BRAF V600E mutation in patients over 65 years of age undergoing thyroidectomy, correlating its presence or absence with the different histologic lesions, their variants and with prognostic factors of papillary carcinoma. METHODS We evaluated 85 patients over 65 years of age who underwent thyroidectomy, analyzing the BRAF V600E mutation by RT-PCR performed after DNA extraction from the paraffin blocks. RESULTS The study detected the presence or absence of BRAF V600E mutation in 47 patients (55.3%). Among the 17 papillary carcinomas studied, seven had the mutation (41.2%). There was a statistical association between the presence of this mutation and the classic variant of papillary carcinoma, and a trend of association with thyroid extravasation. CONCLUSION BRAF mutation in the elderly is also exclusive of papillary carcinoma and is often significant. Furthermore, it is related to the classic variant and possibly to thyroid extravasation.