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. 2019 Nov 7;11(11):1744.
doi: 10.3390/cancers11111744.

Coexisting Germline CHEK2 and Somatic BRAFV600E Mutations in Papillary Thyroid Cancer and Their Association with Clinicopathological Features and Disease Course

Danuta Gąsior-Perczak  1 , Artur Kowalik  2 , Agnieszka Walczyk  1 , Monika Siołek  3 , Krzysztof Gruszczyński  2 , Iwona Pałyga  1 , Estera Mikina  1 , Tomasz Trybek  1 , Janusz Kopczyński  4 , Ryszard Mężyk  5 , Stanisław Góźdź  6   7 , Aldona Kowalska  1   6
Affiliations

Coexisting Germline CHEK2 and Somatic BRAFV600E Mutations in Papillary Thyroid Cancer and Their Association with Clinicopathological Features and Disease Course

Danuta Gąsior-Perczak et al. Cancers (Basel). .

Abstract

BRAFV600E is the most common somatic mutation in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and the majority of evidence indicates that it is associated with an aggressive clinical course. Germline mutations of the CHEK2 gene impair the DNA damage repair process and increase the risk of PTC. Coexistence of both mutations is expected to be associated with poorer clinical course. We evaluated the prevalence of concomitant CHEK2 and BRAFV600E mutations and their associations with clinicopathological features, treatment response, and disease course in PTC patients. The study included 427 unselected PTC patients (377 women and 50 men) from one center. Relationships among clinicopathological features, mutation status, treatment response, and disease outcomes were assessed. Mean follow-up was 10 years. CHEK2 mutations were detected in 15.2% and BRAFV600E mutations in 64.2% patients. Neither mutation was present in 31.4% cases and both BRAFV600E and CHEK2 mutations coexisted in 10.8% patients. No significant differences in clinicopathological features, initial risk, treatment response, or disease outcome were detected among these patient groups. CHEK2 mutations were significantly associated with older age, while BRAFV600E was significantly associated with older age and extrathyroidal extension. The coexistence of both mutations was not associated with more aggressive clinicopathological features of PTC, poorer treatment response, or disease outcome.

Keywords: BRAF mutation; CHEK2 mutation; papillary thyroid cancer; response to therapy; risk stratification.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research reported.

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