PURPOSE Recurrent "driver" mutations at specific loci in BRAF, NRAS, KIT, GNAQ, and GNA11 define clinically relevant molecular subsets of melanoma, but more than 30% are "pan-negative" for these recurrent mutations. We sought to identify additional potential drivers in "pan-negative" melanoma. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Using a targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) assay (FoundationOne™) and tar...

Mutational activation of BRAF(BRAF(V600E)) occurs in pediatric glioma and drives aberrant MAPK signaling independently of upstream cues. Targeted monotherapy against BRAF(V600E) displays efficacy in pre-clinical models of glioma, however xenograft tumors adapt rapidly and escape from the growth-inhibitory effects of BRAF-targeted therapy. Here, we show that intrinsic resistance to a BRAF(V600E)...

BRAF is a cytoplasmic serine-threonine protein kinasethat plays a critical role in the MAPK signaling pathway. BRAF is the only member of the RAF family activated by mutation in human cancers. A single amino acid substitution (V600E) accounts for a multitude of human cancers, which causes constitutive kinase activity. In papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) and papillary-derived anaplastic thyroid ca...

BACKGROUND Both Gamma-Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) and BRAF inhibitors (BRAF-I) have been shown to be useful in melanoma patients with brain metastases (BMs), thus suggesting that it could be interesting to combine their respective advantages. However, cases of radiosensitization following conventional radiation therapy in BRAF-I treated patients have raised serious concerns about the real feasibi...

BACKGROUND Autoantibodies to the catalytic domain of v-raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homologue B1 (BRAF) have been recently identified as a new family of autoantibodies involved in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The objective of this study was to determine antibody responses to the catalytic domain of BRAF in RA and other autoimmune diseases. The association between RA-related clinical indices ...

AIM The BRAF mutation is a rare pathogenetic alternative to KIT/PDGFRA mutation in GIST and causes Imatinib resistance. A recent description of KIT and BRAF mutations co-occurring in an untreated GIST has challenged the concept of their being mutually exclusive and may account for ab initio resistance to Imatinib, even in the presence of Imatinib-sensitive KIT mutations. BRAF sequencing is gene...

Since the identification of the BRAFV600E (BRAF) mutation in thyroid cancer nearly 10 yr ago, it has become the focus of numerous studies (1, 2). BRAF has been detected in about 45% (range, 26–83%) of all papillary cancers and less frequently in poorly differentiated and anaplastic thyroid cancers (1, 2). Because papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) accounts for 85% of all thyroid cancers, it is the ...

Development of selective inhibitors of BRAF has improved the survival of patients with BRAF-mutant melanoma. The progression-free survival after treatment with a BRAF inhibitor is modest, however, and BRAF inhibitors induce cutaneous toxicity, likely due to paradoxical activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. Combining selective BRAF and MEK inhibition, such as the BRAF inhib...

Melanoma is the most lethal form of skin cancer, and the incidence and mortality rates are rapidly rising. Epidemiologically, high numbers of nevi (moles) are associated with higher risk of melanoma . The majority of melanomas exhibit activating mutations in the serine/threonine kinase BRAF . BRAF mutations may be critical for the initiation of melanoma ; however, the direct role of BRAF in nev...

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the BRAF mutation status in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) on the basis of ultrasound (US) features suspicious for malignancy. Methods: The clinical, pathologic, and radiologic characteristics of patients who were diagnosed with PTC from August 2014 to August 2015 were reviewed. A radiologist who was blinded to the BRAF status, independently reviewed all...