{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,25]],"date-time":"2026-06-25T16:46:18Z","timestamp":1782405978600,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"Wiley","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,25]],"date-time":"2026-06-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782345600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/termsAndConditions#vor"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,25]],"date-time":"2026-06-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782345600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Head &amp; Neck"],"abstract":"ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n \n Background<\/jats:title>\n To analyze the clinicopathological features and long\u2010term outcomes of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients with rearranged during transfection (RET) proto\u2010oncogene fusion positive and to explore their genotype\u2013phenotype associations and prognostic significance.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n A retrospective study was conducted on 828 PTC patients treated at Sun Yat\u2010sen University Cancer Center between January 2018 and December 2020. RET fusions, as well as BRAF and TERT promoter mutations, were primarily detected by quantitative real\u2010time polymerase chain reaction. Demographic, clinicopathological, and follow\u2010up data were obtained and analyzed to identify genotype\u2010specific disease patterns.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n RET<\/jats:italic>\n fusions were identified in 64 patients (7.7%).\n RET<\/jats:italic>\n fusion\u2010positive patients had a significantly greater proportion of pediatric and adolescent onset (12.5% vs. 0.7%;\n p\u2009<<\/jats:italic>\n \u20090.001) and had larger tumors (34.4% vs. 10.1%,\n p\u2009<<\/jats:italic>\n \u20090.001), higher rates of lateral cervical lymph node metastasis (64.1% vs. 24.6%,\n p\u2009<<\/jats:italic>\n \u20090.001), distant metastasis (14.1% vs. 1.0%,\n p\u2009<<\/jats:italic>\n \u20090.001), extrathyroidal extension (23.4% vs. 13.9%,\n p\u2009=<\/jats:italic>\n \u20090.037), vascular invasion (17.2% vs. 3.9%,\n p\u2009<<\/jats:italic>\n \u20090.001), perineural invasion (17.2% vs. 4.6%,\n p\u2009<<\/jats:italic>\n \u20090.001), and extranodal extension (34.4% vs. 4.8%,\n p\u2009<<\/jats:italic>\n \u20090.001) than their\n RET<\/jats:italic>\n fusion\u2010negative counterparts. The follow\u2010up data indicated a higher rate of disease progression and poorer clinical outcomes in\n RET<\/jats:italic>\n fusion\u2010positive patients than in\n RET<\/jats:italic>\n fusion\u2010negative patients (21.9% vs. 2.6%,\n p\u2009<<\/jats:italic>\n \u20090.001).\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n \n RET<\/jats:italic>\n fusion\u2010positive PTC is associated with aggressive clinicopathological behavior and poor prognosis. This study highlights the importance of\n RET<\/jats:italic>\n fusion testing in PTC for more accurate risk stratification and personalized therapeutic approaches, particularly for high\u2010risk patients.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1002\/hed.70369","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,25]],"date-time":"2026-06-25T15:50:52Z","timestamp":1782402652000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Clinicopathological Characteristics and Prognostic Significance of\n RET<\/scp>\n Fusion in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma"],"prefix":"10.1002","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-7544-4257","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jiahe","family":"Tian","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Head and Neck Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer Sun Yat\u2010sen University Cancer Center Guangzhou China"},{"name":"Department of Endoscopy, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer Sun Yat\u2010sen University Cancer Center Guangzhou China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yin","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otorhinolaryngology Ludwigs\u2010Maximilians\u2010University Medical Centre Munich Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhongyu","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Head and Neck Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer Sun Yat\u2010sen University Cancer Center Guangzhou China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ke","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Head and Neck Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer Sun Yat\u2010sen University Cancer Center Guangzhou China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ang","family":"Hu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Head and Neck Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer Sun Yat\u2010sen University Cancer Center Guangzhou China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0664-0725","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Qiuli","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Head and Neck Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer Sun Yat\u2010sen University Cancer Center Guangzhou China"},{"name":"Department of Head and Neck Surgery Sun Yat\u2010sen University Cancer Center Gansu Hospital Lanzhou China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,25]]},"reference":[{"issue":"3","key":"e_1_2_12_2_1","first-page":"229","article-title":"Global Cancer Statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN Estimates of Incidence and Mortality Worldwide for 36 Cancers in 185 Countries","volume":"74","author":"Bray F.","year":"2024","journal-title":"CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians"},{"issue":"4","key":"e_1_2_12_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"225","DOI":"10.1016\/S2213-8587(21)00027-9","article-title":"Thyroid Cancer Incidence Trends by Histology in 25 Countries: A Population\u2010Based Study","volume":"9","author":"Miranda\u2010Filho A.","year":"2021","journal-title":"Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology"},{"issue":"4","key":"e_1_2_12_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"441","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cytogfr.2005.05.010","article-title":"RET Tyrosine Kinase Signaling in Development and Cancer","volume":"16","author":"Arighi E.","year":"2005","journal-title":"Cytokine & Growth Factor Reviews"},{"issue":"2","key":"e_1_2_12_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"158","DOI":"10.1089\/thy.2017.0318","article-title":"Gene Fusions in Thyroid Cancer","volume":"28","author":"Yakushina V. 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C.","year":"2009","journal-title":"Clinical Cancer Research"},{"issue":"15","key":"e_1_2_12_34_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.3389\/fendo.2024.1484838","article-title":"The Diagnosis and Management of Small and Indeterminate Lymph Nodes in Papillary Thyroid Cancer: Preoperatively and Intraoperatively","volume":"14","author":"Hu A.","year":"2024","journal-title":"Frontiers in Endocrinology"},{"issue":"3","key":"e_1_2_12_35_1","first-page":"331","article-title":"The Ret\/PTC Oncogene in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma","volume":"123","author":"Jhiang S. 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