RET-mutant medullary thyroid cancer

RET-mutant medullary thyroid cancer is a rare neuroendocrine malignancy of the endocrine system arising from the calcitonin-secreting parafollicular C cells of the thyroid gland It is defined by activating mutations in the *RET* proto-oncogene, which encode a constitutively active receptor tyrosine kinase that drives unregulated cellular proliferation and survival These oncogenic alterations can occur as inherited germline mutations—often associated with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2...

RET-mutant medullary thyroid cancer is a rare neuroendocrine malignancy of the endocrine system arising from the calcitonin-secreting parafollicular C cells of the thyroid gland Clinically, it frequently presents as a thyroid nodule accompanied by elevated serum calcitonin and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels, and it carries a high propensity for early lymph node involvement and distant metastatic spread

It is defined by activating mutations in the *RET* proto-oncogene, which encode a constitutively active receptor tyrosine kinase that drives unregulated cellular proliferation and survival

These oncogenic alterations can occur as inherited germline mutations—often associated with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2) syndromes—or as acquired somatic mutations in sporadic tumors

Clinically, it frequently presents as a thyroid nodule accompanied by elevated serum calcitonin and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels, and it carries a high propensity for early lymph node involvement and distant metastatic spread