[A review on the RET proto-oncogene mutation in medullary thyroid carcinoma]

Medullary thyroid carcinoma（MTC） is a special type of neuroendocrine tumor originated from C-cells of the thyroid gland, MTC can be divided into sporadic(70%-80%)and hereditary(20%-30%), about 98% of the hereditary MTC patients have RET proto-oncogene germline mutation in exon 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16. The mutation of RET proto oncogene is closely related to the pathogenesis of MTC, and different mutation of RET proto oncogene exon may lead to different MTC phenotypes.More than 100 kinds of mutations in the RET gene were reported. This paper reviews the research progress of RET proto-oncogene mutation in MTC.