Table 5. Characteristics of included studies from other Asian countries and regions.

Country/region	##	Author	Year	Institution	City	Study cohort	Tissue type	Technique	Total PTC	BRAF+	BRAF rate (%)
Saudi Arabia	1	Abubaker J (129)	2008	King Faisal Specialist Hospital	Riyadh	1988–2004	FFPE	Seq	296	153	52
	2	Schulten HJ (130)	2012	King Abdulaziz University + King Faisal Specialist Hospital	Jeddah	1995–2011	FFPE	PCR, Seq	213	87	41
	3	Zou M (131)	2014	King Faisal Specialist Hospital	Riyadh	1987–2006	Fresh frozen	Seq	88	42	48
	4	Qasem E (132)	2015	King Faisal Specialist Hospital	Riyadh	2008–2011	FFPE	Seq	243	105	43
	5	Murugan AK (133)	2016	King Faisal Specialist Hospital	Riyadh	n/s	FFPE	Seq	201	95	47
	6	Alzahrani AS (20)	2017	King Faisal Specialist Hospital	Riyadh	1998–2015	FFPE	Seq	79	19	24
Iran	1	Mohammadi-Asl J (134)	2009	Tehran University of Medical Science	Tehran	2007–2008	FFPE	PCR-RFLP	28	20	71
	2	Ranjbari N (135)	2013	Imam Khomeini Hospital	Ahvaz	2000–2010	FFPE	PCR-RFLP	63	49	78
	3	Daliri M (136)	2014	Ghaem Hospital	Mashhad	1999–2014	FFPE	PCR-RFLP	69	28	41
	4	Zarkesh M (137)	2018	Erfan Hopital + Atiyeh Hospital	Tehran	2015–2016	Fresh frozen	Seq	60	24	40
	5	Ghasemi M (138)	2019	Khalili Hospital	Shiraz	2012–2017	FFPE	PCR-RFLP	79	65	82
Iraq	1	Salih A (139)	2017	Duhok Private Medical Laboratory + Vin Private Medical laboratory	Duhok	2011–2015	FFPE	qPCR	47	12	26
Kazakhstan	1	Kumagai A (22)	2007	Medical Institute of Semipalatinsk	Semipalatinsk	2004–2006	FNA	PCR-RFLP	76	19	25
	2	Tlegenov AS (140)	2018	Kazakh Scientific Research Institute of Oncology and Radiology	Almaty	2016–2017	Fresh frozen	IHC	92	62	67
Myanmar	1	Than MM (141)	2017	Yangon University of Medicine	Yangon	2014–2016	FFPE	PCR	44	10	23
Thailand	1	Choden S (142)	2020	Chulalongkorn University	Bangkok	2007–2017	FFPE	IHC	476	290	61
Vietnam	1	Vuong HG (27)	2016	Cho Ray Hospital	Ho Chi Minh	2011–2014	FFPE	AS-PCR	53	44	83
Indonesia	1	Brahma B (143)	2013	Mangunkusumo Hospital Medical Faculty University	Jakarta	2010–2011	FNA	PCR RFLP	44	17	39
	2	Kristiani E (144)	2016	Siloam Hospitals Lippo Village	Tangerang	n/s	FFPE	IHC	50	17	34
Singapore	1	Yang P (145)	2015	Singapore National University Hospital	Singapore	n/s	FFPE	IHC	49	39	80
	2	Goh X (146)	2019	Singapore National University Hospital	Singapore	2010–2012	FFPE	Seq	75	42	56
Taiwan	1	Liu RT (147)	2005	Chang Gung Memorial Hospital	Kaohsiung	1997–2002	FFPE	Seq	105	49	47
	2	Chang YS (148)	2013	China Medical University Hospital	Taichung	n/s	Fresh frozen	Seq	52	32	62
Hong Kong	1	Lo CC (149)	2004	University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong	2001–2003	FFPE	Seq	34	17	50
	2	Law Y (150)	2009	The Hong Kong Polytechnic University	Hong Kong	n/s	FFPE	PCR RFLP	50	24	48
Philippines	1	Navarro-Locsin CG (151)	2016	St. Luke’s Medical Center	Quezon City	2010–2012	FFPE	Seq + qPCR	65	25	38
	2	Espiritu GAM (152)	2019	Makati Medical Center	Makati	2016	FFPE	Seq	17	12	71

AS-PCR, allele specific-polymerase chain reaction; FFPE, formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissues; FNA, fine needle aspiration; IHC, immunohistochemistry; n/s, not specified; PCR-RFLP, polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism; qPCR, quantitative polymerase chain reaction; Seq, sequencing