Abstract: Objective To screen the expression of RET fusion gene in nasopharyngeal carcinoma specimens and cell lines.
Methods RET fusion gene in tissue microarray and cell lines were detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization （FISH） and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction （RT-PCR）. Results One hundred and thirtyseven cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissues and 6 strains of common nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines were screened by fluorescence in situ hybridization. However， no RET fusion gene were found in nasopharyngeal carcinoma specimens and cell lines， and further RT-PCR examination of KIF5B／RET fusion gene proved the same. Conclusion There is no RET fusion gene in nasopharyngeal carcinoma， suggesting RET oncogene does not play a leading role in the development of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. RET oncogene may be not a suitable target in the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma， which prompts the existence of other molecular mechanism in the occurrence and development of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. A genomewide analysis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma is quite essential for understanding the unique biological features of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.