| Abstract: | Frequency of RET/PTC rearrangement and somatic BRAF mutation was investigated in patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) vis-a-vis relevant demographic and clinico-pathological features. The study group included 76 patients with a female/male ratio of 4.8:1; mean age - 45.7 +/- 9.7 yrs. BRAF mutation was identified in 49 (65%) (V600E--47, KSRWS600--1 and E585K--1). RET rearrangement was detected in 9 (12%): RET/PTC1--5, RET/PTC3--2, unspecified RET/PTC--1 and delta RET/PTC--1. It was age at diagnosis alone that proved to be consistently associated with BRAF mutations (p = 0.017). Younger tumor patients were mostly prone to RET/PTC rearrangement (p = 0.08). No correlation between mutation and clinico-pathological features was established. |
