ABSTRACT
Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate the correlation between maximum standard uptake values( SUVmax ) of 18 F-FDG PET/CT and BRAF mutation in patients with papillary thyroid car-cinoma(PTC).Methods Atotalof51patients(meanageof49.3±12.9years)whounderwent18F-FDGPET/CT imaging and biopsy before thyroidectomy were retrospectively analyzed. Based on the pathological results, there were 48 patients with PTC and 3 patients with follicular thyroid carcinoma(FTC). The SUVmax of thyroid nodule was measured by semi-quantitative analysis. The correlation between clinical data( gender,age,tumor size and thyroglobulin concentration) and SUVmax was also analyzed. The difference of SUVmax between the two groups was analyzed by comparing the BRAF V600E mutation group and the non-mutation group. Results In patients with PTC,27 patients had BRAF V600E mutations and 11 patients had no tumor mutation. The SUVmax of BRAF V600E mutation group was significantly higher than that in the non-mutated group(5. 5 ± 3. 9 vs. 2. 2 ± 1. 2,P=0. 002). The SUVmax of patients with tumor diameter≥1 cm was significantly higher than that in patients with tumor <1 cm(P<0. 05). The SUVmax of patients with elevated thyroglobulin concentration was higher than that in normal patients(P<0. 05). No BRAF V600E mutation was observed in the FTC group. Conclusion The BRAF V600E mutant gene has a high SUVmax value in patients with PTC. There were significant difference in SUVmax among different tumor size and serum thyroglobulin concentration.