Medullary thyroid cancer is the neoplasm of the calcitonin-producing parafollicular cells of the thyroid gland. The hormone calcitonin acts to lower the blood calcium level, counteracting the effects of the parathyroid hormone; it can also serve as a biomarker for the presence or recurrence of medullary thyroid cancer. Surgery is the only curative treatment for this cancer. Targeted therapeutics vandetanib and cabozantinib are approved for the treatment of aggressive and metastatic tumors that are not amenable to surgery. The use of these multikinase inhibitors are supported by the observed overactivation of the RET oncoprotein in a large sub-population of medullary thyroid cancers; however, not all patients carry oncogenic alterations of this kinase. Hence, there is a need for molecular characterization of medullary tumors on the genomic scale with the aim of identifying targetable mutations. Here, we describe the genomic profiles of two medullary thyroid cancers and report the presence of a putative oncogenic BRAF fusion in one. Such alterations previously observed in other ... (Show More)

Medullary thyroid cancer is the neoplasm of the calcitonin-producing parafollicular cells of the thyroid gland. The hormone calcitonin acts to lower the blood calcium level, counteracting the effects of the parathyroid hormone; it can also serve as a biomarker for the presence or recurrence of medullary thyroid cancer. Surgery is the only curative treatment for this cancer. Targeted therapeutics vandetanib and cabozantinib are approved for the treatment of aggressive and metastatic tumors that are not amenable to surgery. The use of these multikinase inhibitors are supported by the observed overactivation of the RET oncoprotein in a large sub-population of medullary thyroid cancers; however, not all patients carry oncogenic alterations of this kinase. Hence, there is a need for molecular characterization of medullary tumors on the genomic scale with the aim of identifying targetable mutations. Here, we describe the genomic profiles of two medullary thyroid cancers and report the presence of a putative oncogenic BRAF fusion in one. Such alterations previously observed in other malignancies and known targets of available drugs, can benefit patients who currently have no therapy options.

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