Objective:

To explore the clinical value of

BRAF

V600E gene detection in diagnos

ing the benign and malignant nodules of the atypia of undetermined significance or follicular lesion of undetermined significance (AUS/FLUS).

Methods:

A retrospective analysis was performed on 96 patients (with 97 nodules) diagnosed as AUS/FLUS by fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) before surgery and with complete ultrasound evaluation report and

BRAF

V600E detection results from Nanjing Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University (Nanjing First Hospital) from March 2019 to October 2022. With postoperative pathology as the gold standard

the application value of

BRAF

V600E gene detection in diagnosing benign and malignant AUS/FLUS nodules was studied through statistical methods.

Results:

Among the postoperative histopathological findings of 97 AUS/FLUS nodules

11 were benign

86 were malignant

and 71 had mutations in the

BRAF

V600E gene

all of which were papillary carcinoma of the thyroid (PTC). The sensitivity

specificity

and accuracy of the

BRAF

V600E gene detection in the diagnosis of AUS/FLUS nodules were 82.6%

100.0%

and 84.5%. By calculating the area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve

it is confirmed that the

BRAF

V600E gene detection has a high diagnostic value for the diagnosis of AUS/FLUS nodules.

BRAF

V600E mutation examination can increase the malignant detection rate of AUS/FLUS nodules (

P

＜0.05).

Conclusion:

The

BRAF

V600E gene detection has high diagnostic value for the diagnosis of AUS/FLUS nodules. Combining FNAB can improve the detection rateof malignant AUS/FLUS nodules

which is very helpful for clinical treatment planning.