The Occurrence and the Type of Germline Mutations in the RET Gene in Patients with Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma and Their Unaffected Kindred's from Central Poland

We aimed to investigate the occurrence and types of pathogenic mutations in the RET gene in patients with MTC of the Central Poland population and in their relatives. DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood lymphocytes of a total of 330 persons, including 235 MTC patients and 95 of their unaffected kindred's. Exons 10, 11, 13, 14, 15 and 16 of the RET gene were amplified by PCR and sequenced. Sixty-seven people were found to carry pathogenic, germline mutations in the RET gene. In exon 10, C609F, C609R and C609Y (3 families), C618G, C618F (2 families), and C620G (4 families) mutations were identified. In exon 11, C634R (8 families) and C649L mutations (1 patient) were found. Five families carried Y791F mutation in exon 13. One patient with PTC revealed the presence of a Y791F mutation. In 3 families, exon 14 of the RET gene harbored the following mutations: V804L (1 patient), E819K (1 patient) and R844Q (1 patient). In 1 family, the S891A mutation was identified in exon 15, 3 families were found to ca...