RET Proto-Oncogene and Thyroid Cancer

Abstract

The RET proto-oncogene has not only conclusively been identified as responsible for the three subtypes of the inherited cancer syndrome multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN-2) but also shown to be involved in the molecular evolution of sporadic medullary and papillary thyroid carcinoma as well as Hirschsprung's disease. A variety of recent studies have elucidated the pathophysiological mechanisms leading to neoplastic disease and we now understand that dominant activating germline mutations lead to MEN-2A, MEN-2B, and familial MTC; somatic mutations to sporadic medullary thyroid carcinoma; RET rearrangements to papillary thyroid carcinoma; and inactivating alterations to Hirschsprung's disease. The clinical significance, however, of RET alterations especially in sporadic thyroid tumors is still controversial and therapeutic concepts in MEN-2 gene carriers only start to emerge. This article is a short summary of the recent findings on the structure and physiology of the RET proto-oncogene and its role in familial and sporadic thyroid cancer.