Li X, et al. - In a large fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cohort in China, researchers investigated the clinical significance of the BRAF^V600E mutation on preoperative diagnosis and decision-making. This prospective study included 2,640 samples from 2,307 patients undergoing FNA procedures in a Chinese medical center. The data presented in this work showed a high mutation rate of 86.7% in the papillary thyroid carcinoma population. In young patients and patients with central lymph node metastasis, C_T values of BRAF^V600E of patients with PTMC were significantly lower. In BRAF^V600E high-prevalence regions, including China, the combined analysis of cytological outcomes and BRAF^V600E mutation is highly suggested. Regardless of the BRAF mutation status, prophylactic central neck dissection should be performed in selected patients.