Quality Control and Telemedicine for BRAF V600E Mutations in Papillary Thyroid Carcinomas

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 12-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niki Margari ◽  
Abraham Pouliakis ◽  
Aris Spathis ◽  
Emmanouil Mastorakis ◽  
Efthymios Karakostas ◽  
...  

The assessment of BRAF V600E mutations is important for prognosis and treatment of Papillary Thyroid Carcinomas (PTC), the standard methods for their identification are molecular biology techniques. In this study, the potential of image morphometry applied to cell nuclei and sequentially the use of a Classification And Regression Tree (CART) is investigated, in order to: identify morphometric features useful to characterize BRAF mutations, and to eventually produce an algorithm identifying BRAF mutation status. The 140 studied cases had histological confirmation and known BRAF mutation status identified via real-time PCR. The analysis revealed that nuclear features contributing to BRAF mutation status identification via the CART model are related mostly to nuclear color. According to the results there is evidence that BRAF V600E mutations can be identified by measurable image features. Therefore, the proposed method is useful for quality control of BRAF V600E mutations on cytological slides, can serve as alternative to PCR method and may be used for remote assessment.

2007 ◽  
Vol 92 (7) ◽  
pp. 2840-2843 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Durante ◽  
E. Puxeddu ◽  
E. Ferretti ◽  
R. Morisi ◽  
S. Moretti ◽  
...  

Abstract Context: BRAF mutations are common in papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs). By affecting the expression of genes critically related to the development and differentiation of thyroid cancer, they may influence the prognosis of these tumors. Objective: Our objective was to characterize the expression of thyroid-specific genes associated with BRAF mutation in PTCs. Design/Setting and Patients: We examined the expression of key markers of thyrocyte differentiation in 56 PTCs with BRAF mutations (BRAF-mut) and 37 with wild-type BRAF (BRAF-wt). Eight samples of normal thyroid tissue were analyzed as controls. Quantitative PCR was used to measure mRNA levels for the sodium/iodide symporter (NIS), apical iodide transporter (AIT-B), thyroglobulin (Tg), thyroperoxidase (TPO), TSH receptor (TSH-R), the transcription factor PAX8, and glucose transporter type 1 (Glut1). NIS protein expression and localization was also analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Results: mRNA levels for all thyroid-specific genes were reduced in all PTCs vs. normal thyroid tissues. NIS, AIT-B, Tg, and TPO expression was significantly lower in BRAF-mut tumors than in the BRAF-wt group. Glut-1 transcript levels were increased in all PTCs, and additional increases were noted in BRAF-mut tumors. In both tumor subsets, the NIS protein that was expressed was abnormally retained in the cytoplasm. Conclusion: BRAF V600E mutation in PTCs is associated with reduced expression of key genes involved in iodine metabolism. This effect may alter the effectiveness of diagnostic and/or therapeutic use of radioiodine in BRAF-mut PTCs.


2007 ◽  
Vol 92 (11) ◽  
pp. 4085-4090 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristiana Lupi ◽  
Riccardo Giannini ◽  
Clara Ugolini ◽  
Agnese Proietti ◽  
Piero Berti ◽  
...  

Abstract Context: Because very few studies have examined the correlation between BRAF mutations and clinicopathological features of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), we analyzed here a large and homogeneous cohort of patients with PTC for the presence of the BRAF mutation. Objective: We examined BRAF mutations in a consecutive series of 500 PTC patients who underwent surgery in the Department of Surgery of the University of Pisa, and we correlated the presence of the mutation with clinicopathological parameters of the patients: age, gender, tumor size, presence of tumor capsule, extrathyroidal invasion, multicentricity, presence of node metastases, and tumor class. Design: BRAF (exon 15) mutation was examined by PCR-single strand conformational polymorphism followed by DNA sequencing in laser-capture microdissected tissue samples. Results: In this study, BRAF mutation was found in 219 of 500 cases (43.8%). In particular, we found the most common BRAF V600E mutation in 214 cases (42.8%), BRAF K601E mutation in three cases (0.6%), BRAF VK600–1E (0.2%) in one case, whereas in one case we found a new 14-bp deletion with concomitant 2-bp insertion, VKSR600–3del and T599I, respectively. BRAF V600E was associated with extrathyroidal invasion (P < 0.0001), multicentricity (P = 0.0026), presence of nodal metastases (P = 0.0009), class III vs. classes I and II (P < 0.00000006), and absence of tumor capsule (P < 0.0001), in particular in follicular- and micro-PTC variants. By multivariate analysis, the absence of tumor capsule remained the only parameter associated (P = 0.0005) with BRAF V600E mutation. Conclusions: Our data suggest that BRAF V600E mutation is associated with high-risk PTC and in particular in follicular variant with invasive tumor growth.


2012 ◽  
Vol 106 (6) ◽  
pp. 719-723 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ji Hye Yim ◽  
Eun Sook Kim ◽  
Hyun-Jung Choi ◽  
Min Ji Jeon ◽  
Ji Min Han ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Miguel Paja ◽  
Cura Jose L Del ◽  
Ciriza Maite Perez de ◽  
Amelia Oleaga ◽  
Aitziber Ugalde

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (13) ◽  
pp. 2129-2136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Friedemann Honecker ◽  
Hendrik Wermann ◽  
Frank Mayer ◽  
Ad J.M. Gillis ◽  
Hans Stoop ◽  
...  

Purpose Mismatch repair (MMR) deficiency and microsatellite instability (MSI) are associated with cisplatin resistance in human germ cell tumors (GCTs). BRAF mutation (V600E) is found in MSI colorectal cancers. The role of RAS/RAF pathway mutations in GCT treatment response is unknown. Patients and Methods Two patient cohorts were investigated: 100 control GCTs (50 seminomas and 50 nonseminomas) and 35 cisplatin-based chemotherapy-resistant GCTs. MMR proteins were analyzed by immunohistochemistry, and eight microsatellite loci were examined for MSI. Tumors were assessed for specific BRAF and KRAS mutations. Results Resistant tumors showed a higher incidence of MSI than controls: 26% versus 0% in two or more loci (P < .0001). All resistant tumors were wild-type KRAS, and two controls (2%) contained a KRAS mutation. There was a significantly higher incidence of BRAF V600E mutation in resistant tumors compared with controls: 26% versus 1% (P < .0001). BRAF mutations were highly correlated with MSI (P = .006), and MSI and mutated BRAF were correlated with weak or absent staining for hMLH1 (P = .017 and P = .008). Low or absent staining of hMLH1 was correlated with promoter hypermethylation (P < .001). Tumors lacking expression of hMLH1 or MSH6 were significantly more frequent in resistant GCTs than in controls (P = .001 and 0.0036, respectively). Within the subgroup of resistant tumors, patients with MSI showed a trend to longer progression-free survival (P = .068). Conclusion We report for the first time a correlation between a gene mutation—BRAF V600E—and cisplatin resistance in nonseminomatous GCTs. Furthermore, a correlation between MMR deficiency, MSI, and treatment failure is confirmed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 3557-3557
Author(s):  
Robin Park ◽  
Laércio Lopes da Silva ◽  
Sunggon Lee ◽  
Anwaar Saeed

3557 Background: Mismatch repair deficient/microsatellite instability high (dMMR/MSI-H) colorectal cancer (CRC) defines a molecular subtype with distinct clinicopathologic characteristics including an excellent response to immunotherapy. Although BRAF mutations are established as a negative prognostic marker in CRC, whether they retain their negative prognostic impact in or alter the response to immunotherapy in dMMR/MSI-H CRC remains unknown. Herein, we present a systematic review and meta-analysis of the impact of BRAF mutations on the overall survival (OS) and immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) response in dMMR/MSI-H CRC. Methods: Studies published from inception to 26 January 2021 were searched in PubMed, Embase, and major conference proceedings (AACR, ASCO, and ESMO). Eligible studies included the following: 1) observational studies reporting outcomes based on BRAF mutation status in dMMR/MSI-H CRC patients and 2) experimental studies of ICI reporting outcomes based on BRAF mutation status in dMMR/MSI-H CRC patients. A summary hazard ratio (HR) was calculated for OS in BRAF mutated ( BRAFmut) vs. BRAF wild type ( BRAFwt) patients (pts) with the random effects meta-analysis (REM). A summary odds ratio (OR) was calculated for objective response rate (ORR) in BRAFmut vs. BRAFwt pts treated with ICI with the REM. Results: Database search conducted according to PRISMA guidelines found 4221 studies in total. Initial screening identified 30 studies and after full-text review, 9 studies (N = 4158 pts) were included for the meta-analysis of prognosis (analysis A) and 3 studies (N = 178 pts) were included for the meta-analysis of ICI response (analysis B). The outcome measures are summarized in the table below. Analysis A showed that in stage I-IV dMMR/MSI-H CRC pts, BRAFmut was associated with worse OS than BRAFwt (HR 1.57, 1.23-1.99). The heterogeneity was low (I2 = 21%). Subgroup analysis showed no significant difference in the prognostic impact of BRAF mutation status between stage IV only and stage I-IV CRC pts. Analysis B showed no difference in ORR (OR 1.04, 0.48-2.25) between BRAFmut vs. BRAFwt dMMR/MSI-H pts who received ICI. The heterogeneity was low (I2 = 0%). Conclusions: BRAF mutations retain their negative prognostic impact in dMMR/MSI-H stage I-IV and stage IV CRC but are not associated with differential ICI response. Limitations include the following: analysis A was based on retrospective studies; also, the impact of BRAF status on the survival outcome of ICI could not be assessed due to limited number of studies.[Table: see text]


2019 ◽  
Vol 95 (1130) ◽  
pp. 686.4-687
Author(s):  
Lauren Passy ◽  
Shobha Silva ◽  
Ian Brock ◽  
Greg Wells ◽  
Angela Cox ◽  
...  

IntroductionTreatment of recurrent and metastatic melanoma has been revolutionised by targeted therapy. Inhibitors of mutant BRAF are a systemic treatment offered for patients with stage III/IV melanoma who are known to carry a mutation in BRAF. Currently patients’ BRAF mutation status is assessed through molecular analysis of tissue specimens.Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) released from tumours can be used to non-invasively detect active disease and predict survival in melanoma. cfDNA also provides a method for detecting BRAF mutations. This project aimed to ascertain BRAF mutation status in cfDNA through digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) of plasma samples from patients with melanoma. We aimed to assess the relationship between cfDNA BRAF positivity and disease relapse and progression.MethodsPlasma from 100 patients with active or recently resected melanoma was obtained during previous work. 85 samples had cfDNA extracted. Tissue BRAF status was known for 57 samples. cfDNA was extracted from 1–2 ml plasma with the QIAamp circulating nucleic acid kit (QIAGEN®) following manufacturer protocol, eluting cfDNA into 100µL. cfDNA was quantified with SYBR green quantitative real-time PCR (Life Technologies), based on an 87bp GAPDH gene amplicon. ddPCR™ was performed using the Bio-Rad QX200 Droplet Generator™ and Droplet Reader as per manufacturer protocol. Analysis was performed with Bio-Rad QuantaSoft Version 1.7.4.ResultsMedian yield of cfDNA extracted from 85 samples was 1.97 ng/ml when eluted into 100µL. This was well-correlated with previous cfDNA extraction yields from this sample set (Pearson’s r=0.6687, p<0.0005), where a 200µL elution volume was used. 74 samples yielded >10,000 droplets and were included for analysis. 12 samples contained BRAF mutant positive droplets. A 74% concordance rate between tissue BRAF mutation status and the presence/absence of cfDNA BRAF mutant positive droplets was found. 7/18 tissue BRAF mutant samples contained BRAF mutant droplets, in comparison to 2/32 tissue BRAF wild-type samples. The presence of BRAF mutant positive droplets was significantly different between the tissue BRAF mutant and tissue BRAF wild-type groups (χ2 8.3145, p=0.004).Fractional abundance of BRAF mutant droplets in the samples containing mutant droplets ranged from 0.07–0.74%. When comparing BRAF mutant droplet-containing samples and samples without BRAF mutant droplets, there was no significant difference in rate of relapse (χ2 0.0948, p=0.758), nor mortality rate (χ2 3.3959, p=0.654).Conclusion cfDNA provides a non-invasive snapshot of the tumour genome and any potential therapeutic targets held within. This work demonstrates that a very low volume of cfDNA can be used to detect BRAF mutations in patients with melanoma through ddPCR.Previous work assessing BRAF status in cfDNA has used larger volumes of cfDNA. Though our concordance rates are comparable with other studies, it is possible that using a smaller amount of cfDNA in our ddPCR has resulted in some samples being below the limit of detection for ddPCR.Longitudinal study is warranted to monitor cfDNA BRAF status and mutant fractional abundance, and whether this better correlates with relapse of disease and disease progression.


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