Medullary thyroid carcinoma and RET proto-oncogene

Medullary thyroid carcinoma originates from parafollicular cells. Its prognosis is worse than that of differentiated thyroid carcinoma. Surgery is the best treatment for early stage diseases. In the past decade, dominant activating mutations in the RET pro-oncogene have been identified as the main cause of MTC. Mutation analysis of the RET proto-oncogene has been used in the early diagnosis, prophylactic surgery and targeted therapy of MTC. Key words: Thyroid neoplasms;  Genes;  Mutation