Predictive value and clinical guidance of FNA-Tg combined with BRAF V600E for PTC cervical lymph node metastasis: a case report.

This study reports a rare case in which the integration of Thyroglobulin measurement in the needle washout after fine-needle aspiration (FNA-Tg) and BRAF V600E analysis rectified a histopathological misdiagnosis of cervical lymph node metastasis originating from papillary thyroid carcinoma. The patient was a 52-year-old female farmer who presented with a diagnosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma. Histopathological assessment of cervical lymph nodes returned negative findings, whereas both FNA-Tg and BRAF V600E are positive results. Following a comprehensive re-evaluation of the histopathological specimens, a definitive diagnosis of a rare case of cervical lymph node micrometastasis was confirmed. This case report provides a systematic review of the current literature and critically examines the diagnostic utility of combining FNA-Tg with BRAF V600E in the detection of cervical lymph node metastases from PTC, potentially offering a therapeutic strategy for the clinical management of such conditions.