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Your diagnosis

Change in my RET gen

How will my doctor know if I have a change in my RET gene?

Getting an accurate diagnosis is important, so your doctor will make sure that you have various tests to find out as much about your cancer as possible. That way, you and they can work together to create the best possible treatment plan for you.

Tests to see if you have a change in your RET gene will include a biopsy – you can learn more about these here.

You can learn more about how changes to your genes can cause cancer here.

Does having a change in my RET gene affect my prognosis?

Many people wonder what their prognosis is when thinking about what it means to have RET+ NSCLC. However, it can be hard for a doctor to give an exact amount of time, as cancer is a complex disease that can be affected by many different factors. These include:

  • Your age 
  • Your sex
  • Your race/ethnicity 
  • Where you live and work 
  • The type of work you do 
  • Your diet 
  • Your weight 
  • If you’ve ever smoked/how much alcohol you drink
  • Your family history of illnesses 

It’s worth being aware that RET+ NSCLC is considered more aggressive than some other forms of NSCLC21 – around half of all people who have advanced RET+ NSCLC (cancer that has spread, or ‘metastasised’, around the body) will get the cancer growing in their brain.9 With regular chemotherapy, about half of people with advanced NSCLC pass away within 2–3 years of their diagnosis.22

However, research has led to the discovery of modern treatments called ‘RET inhibitors’, which are specifically designed to treat RET+ NSCLC.5

These RET inhibitors are relatively new, but early clinical trials have shown that the tumours of most people who take a RET inhibitor start shrinking – including tumours in the brain.23,24

Click on one of the options below to learn more 

Alterations

Alterations

Changes to DNA can cause some cancers to start growing. ALK+, RET+, and ROS1+ are examples of these changes.
ALK

ALK

Learn more about ALK+ NSCLC and what this means for you.
ROS1

ROS1

Learn what causes ROS1+ NSCLC and how this might affect you.
Click here to view the glossary
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid
NSCLC
Non-small cell lung cancer
RET
Rearranged during transfection

  1. Elliot J et al. PLoS One 2020; 15(2): e0229179.
  2. Cancer Research UK. Genes, DNA and cancer. 2020. Available at: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/what-is-cancer/genes-dna-and-cancer. Accessed October 2021.
  3. Cooper JP & Youle RJ. Curr Opin Cell Biol 2012; 24(6): 802–803.
  4. Choudhury NJ & Drilon A. Transl Lung Cancer Res 2020; 9(6): 2571–2580.
  5. Stinchcombe TE. Ther Adv Med Oncol 2020; 12: 1758835920928634.
  6. Gautschi O et al. J Clin Oncol 2017; 35(13): 1403–1410.
  7. Drilon A et al. J Thorac Oncol 2018; 13(10): 1595–1601.
  8. SEER Cancer Stat Fact Sheets: Lung and Bronchus Cancer. Available at: https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/lungb.html. Last accessed October 2021.
  9. Drilon A et al. J Thorac Oncol 2018; 13(10): 1595–1601.
  10. Digumarthy SR et al. Cancers 2020; 12: 693.
  11. National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). NCCN clinical practice guideline in oncology: non-small cell lung cancer, Version v1 2022.
  12. Field RW & Withers BL. Clin Chest Med 2012; 33(4): 10.1016/j.ccm.2012.07.001.
  13. World Health Organization (WHO). Ambient (outdoor) air quality and health. 2018. Available at: http://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ambient-(outdoor)-air-quality-and-health. Accessed October 2021.
  14. Berrington de González A et al. J Med Screen 2008; 15(3): 153–158.
  15. Friedman DL et al. J Natl Cancer Inst 2010; 102(14): 1083–1095.
  16. American Cancer Society. Radon and Cancer. 2015. Available at: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/radiation-exposure/radon.html. Accessed October 2021.
  17. Shimizu Y et al. Radiat Res 1990; 121(2): 120–141.
  18. Schwartz AG & Ruckdeschel JC. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2005; 173(1): 16–22.
  19. Shiels MS et al. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2009; 52(5): 611–622.
  20. Winstone TA et al. Chest 2013; 143(2): 30–314.
  21. Shaw AT et al. J Clin Oncol 2009; 27(26): 4247–4253.
  22.  She T et al. Clin Lung Cancer 2020; 21(5): e349–e354.
  23. Drilon A et al. N Engl J Med 2020; 383(9): 813–824.
  24. Curigliano C et al. Abstract 9089 presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting; 4–8 June 2021; virtual format.