N-ras mutation in poorly differentiated thyroid carcinomas: correlation with bone metastases and inverse correlation to thyroglobulin expression.

Codon 61 of the N-ras oncogene was screened for mutations in 99 surgically resected thyroid carcinomas by a polymerase chain resection (PCR)-based method (PCR-primer introduced restriction with enrichment of mutant alleles [PCR-PIREMA]). A point mutation of the N-ras oncogene at the codon 61 was detected in 16 of 99 (16.2%) thyroid carcinomas examined by this method.

Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor mRNA in non-small-cell lung carcinomas.

The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been shown to be strictly related to vascular permeability and endothelial cell growth under physiological and pathological conditions. In tumour development and progression, VEGF plays a pivotal role in the development of the tumoral vascular network, and useful information in the progression of human cancer can be obtained by analysing the vascular endothelial growth factor expression of the tumours. In this study, we investigated the vascular endothelial growth factor transcript expression in non-small-cell lung carcinomas to evaluate the significance of this factor in a group of cancers in which the vascular pattern has been shown to significantly affect progression.