Some somatic oncogene mutations (BRAF, NRAS, HRAS, KRAS) as well as gene translocations (RET/PTC, PAX8/PPAR-gamma) have been associated with the development of thyroid cancer.
Specific acquired RAS mutations have been found to predominate in different cancers, and HRAST81C polymorphism has been determined to contribute the risk of various cancers, including thyroid cancer.
Thus the a4 and a2 alleles of c-Ha-ras-1 may perhaps be viewed as genetic markers of predisposition to lung, ovarian and thyroid cancer, respectively, in combination with other clinical parameters.