title: RET/PTC oncogene activation is an early event in thyroid carcinogenesis.
abstract: RET/PTC oncogene activation occurs in about 20% of human thyroid papillary carcinomas. However, it is not known yet whether it is an early or late event in the process of thyroid carcinogenesis. Here we demonstrate, by using a combined immunohistochemical and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction based approach, that RET/PTC activation is present in 11 out of 26 occult thyroid papillary carcinomas analysed. Therefore, we conclude that it represents an early event in the process of thyroid cell transformation.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori di Napoli, Fondazione Senatore Pascale, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Viglietto
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chiappetta
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Martinez-Tello
authors.forename: F H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Fukunaga
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tallini
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rigopoulou
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Visconti
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mastro
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Santoro
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fusco
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary / Q000235:genetics*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D051096:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret; D011519:Proto-Oncogenes; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D051096:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; C416649:Ret protein, Drosophila