The National Cancer Center has launched a project to find patients with a rare type of lung cancer for clinical tests on a new drug that may be effective in combating the disease.
The rare cancer is caused by a genetic anomaly that occurs when a particular gene, called "ret proto-oncogene" or RET, fuses with another gene. The RET fusion gene is found in 1 percent to 2 percent of adenocarcinoma, the most common kind of lung cancer.
In 2012, research teams in Japan and other countries reported that the RET fusion gene greatly contributes to the growth of a type of cancer. They also reported that a drug called Vandetanib, used for treatment of certain tumors of the thyroid gland, hinders the role of the RET fusion gene and so may be effective in treating the lung cancer it causes.