Targeted next generation sequencing identifies somatic mutations and gene fusions in papillary thyroid carcinoma

138 papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) samples were assessed for somatic mutation profile and fusion genes by targeted resequencing using a cancer panel (ThyGenCapTM) targeting 244 cancer-related genes and 20 potential fusion genes. At least one genetic alteration (including mutations and fusion genes) was observed in 118/138 (85.5%) samples. The most frequently mutated gene was BRAF V600E (57.2%). Moreover, we identified 11 fusion genes including eight previously reported ones and three novel fusion genes, UEVLD-RET, OSBPL9-BRAF, and SQSTM1-NTRK3. Alterations affecting the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway components were seen in 69.6% of the PTC cases and all of these driver mutations were mutually exclusive. Univariate analysis ascertained that the fusion genes were strongly associated with distinct clinicopathological characteristics, such as young age, local invasion, extensive metastasis, and disease stage. In conclusion, our approach facilitated simultaneous high-throughput detection of gene fusions and somatic mutations in PTC samples.