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¹ Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 1830 East Monument Street, Suite 333, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA² Affilated Hospital of Qingdao University School of Medicine, Qingdao 266003, People's Republic of China

(Correspondence should be addressed to M Xing; Email: mxing1{at}jhmi.edu)

The relationship among BRAF mutation, platelet counts, and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) with respect to clinicopathological outcomes of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) may play a role in PTC pathogenesis but remains undefined. We examined the T1799A BRAF mutation by direct genomic DNA sequencing in 108 primary PTC samples from a Chinese cohort and analyzed its relationship with clinicopathological, hematological, and other laboratory results as well as the levels of expression of PDGF in tumors. We found that the BRAF mutation was significantly associated with extrathyroidal invasion and advanced tumor stages III and IV. Specifically, extrathyroidal invasion was seen in 30/54 (56%) PTC with BRAF mutation versus 18/54 (33%) PTC without the mutation (P=0.02). Tumor stages III and IV were seen in 16/54 (30%) PTC with BRAF mutation versus 7/54 (13%) PTC without the mutation (P=0.04). The BRAF mutation was also significantly associated with a higher platelet count, with 249.28±53.76x10⁹/l in the group of patients with BRAF mutation versus 207.79±58.98x10⁹/l in the group without the mutation (P=0.001). An association of higher platelet accounts with extrathyroidal invasion was also seen, with 242.66±51.85x10⁹/l in patients with extrathyroidal invasion versus 218.49±59.10x10⁹/l in patients without extrathyroidal invasion (P=0.03). The BRAF T1799A-positive PTC tissues harbored a significantly higher level of PDGF-B than BRAF T1799A-negative PTC tissues. The data suggest that the BRAF T1799A mutation is associated with aggressive pathological outcomes of PTC in which high platelet counts and increased PDGF production may play a role.