Gene of the month: BRAF

Second RAF paralogue (BRAF) is a proto-oncogene that encodes a serine/threonine kinase that transduces regulatory signals through the Rat Sarcoma (RAS)/RAF/ mitogen-activated protein kinase extracellu-lar signal-regulated kinase (MEK)/extracellu-lar signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway. This pathway is hyperactivated in approxi-mately 30 % of human cancers.1 Activating mutations in the RAS oncogenes occur in 15%–30 % of cancers.2 Kirsten murine sarcoma virus oncogene (KRAS) is an important and frequently mutated member of this group of oncogenes. Gain-of-function BRAF mutations results in aber