Change in the spectrum of RET mutations diagnosed between 1994 and 2006

Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a rare calcitonin producing tumor. About 70-75% of patients with MTC have sporadic disease while the others suffer from hereditary MTC. Hereditary MTC is divided into three clinical subtypes: multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) type 2A is characterized by MTC, pheochromocytoma and primary hyperparathyroidism. MEN 2B is characterized by aggressive MTC, pheochromocytoma, marfanoid habitus and the presence of distinctive mucosal neuromas on the tongue, lips and subconjunctival areas as well as ganglioneuromatosis of the gastrointestinal tract. The third clinical subtype of inherited MTC, familial MTC, is defined as the presence of MTC in families without evidence of adrenal or parathyroid gland involvement. Hereditary MTC is caused by autosomal dominant gain-of-function mutations in the RET proto-oncogene. The first RET germline mutations were identified in 1993 in patients with MEN 2A and FMTC. Initially a codon 634 (exon 11) mutation was found in approximately 85% of patients with MEN 2A, and germline mutations in FMTC kindreds were more equally distributed throughout the RET proto-onocogene. In about 5% of families in these earlier series, mutations did not reside in exons 10 and 11. We now report a change in the spectrum of mutations detected in the RET proto-oncogene in patients with hereditary MTC from the 'classical' mutation at codon 634 in exon 11 (level 2) to more cases with mutations in the exons 13-15 (level 1) and less aggressive disease. In our series 38.9% of mutations were level 1 mutations, 54.4% level 2, and 5.6% level 3 mutations.