Iodine nutritional status is not a direct factor in the prevalence of the BRAFV600E mutation in papillary thyroid cancer

Objectives: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) accounts for approximately 85%-90% of all thyroid cancers. Of the iodine-metabolizing genes, BRAFV600E is a highly specific target for PTC and may have a reciprocal causative relationship with iodide-metabolizing genes. Materials and methods: In this study, we performed a data analysis of selected quantitative studies to determine the relationship between iodine nutritional status and the prevalence of the BRAF600E mutation in patients with PTC. Five studies were selected for meta-analysis based on the selection criteria. Results: A total of 2,068 patients were divided into three groups: low (urinary iodine concentration [UIC] < 100 μg/L), adequate (UIC 100-200 μg/L), and high (UIC ≥ 200 μg/L). The results were obtained using RevMan software, and the pooled odds ratios (ORs) were calculated using Mantel-Haenszel statistics with a 95% confidence interval (CI). The OR for the prevalence of the BRAFV600E mutation between the high and adequate groups was 1.25 (95% CI 0.64-2.43, p = 0.51), and the OR between the low and adequate groups was 0.98 (95% CI 0.42-2.31, p = 0.96). The BRAFV600E mutation risk did not change significantly at different levels of iodine nutrition (p = 0.33) in statistical analyses. Conclusion: We conducted preliminary research on dietary iodine intake and the BRAFV600E mutation in PTC. The results suggested that abnormal iodine intake might not directly influence the prevalence of the BRAFV600E mutation in these patients. Further research into the associations between dietary iodine intake and the BRAFV600E mutation in PTC, including the underlying mechanisms, is required.