The association of BRAF^{V600 E} mutation with the severity and prognosis of PTC has been extensively investigated in Asian patients, but available findings are conflicting. This study aimed to investigate the relationship of BRAF^V600E mutation with the severity and prognosis of PTC in Asian patients. Six English databases (Medline, Cochrane library, PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, CINAHL) and four Chinese databases (China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP Journals Database, CBM, Wanfang database) were searched for studies on BRAF^V600E mutation in Asian patients with thyroid carcinoma, and Revman 5.1 package was employed for pooled analysis and analysis of publication bias. A total of 41 studies were included for this meta-analysis, and BRAF^V600E mutation was found in 65.7% of 12804 Asian patients with PTC. In Asian PTC patients, BRAF^V600E mutation was related to tumor size (OR=1.42, 95% CI: 1.06~1.89), multifocality (OR=1.41, 95% CI: 1.16~1.72), lymph node metastasis (OR=1.55, 95% CI: 1.24~1.94), extrathyroid extension (OR=1.94, 95% CI: 1.67~2.26), advanced TNM staging I/II (OR=0.66, 95% CI: 0.54~0.80), advanced TNM staging III/IV (OR=1.47, 95% CI: 1.27~1.71) and recurrence/persistence (RR=2.26, 95% CI: 1.33-3.84). Our meta-analysis confirms that BRAF^V600E mutation is associated with tumor size, multifocality, lymph node metastasis, extrathyroid extension, pathological stage and recurrence/persistence of PTC. This suggests that BRAF^V600E mutation may become an important factor reflecting severe PTC and predicting a poor prognosis in Asian patients.

 

Key words: Papillary thyroid carcinoma, Asian, BRAF^V600E, mutation, meta analysis