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Updated: Apr 15, 2026

Next Generation Sequencing for the Detection of Actionable Mutations in Solid and Liquid Tumors
Published on: September 20, 2016
BRAF mutations in non-small cell lung cancer.
Peter P Luk1, Bing Yu1, Chiu Chin Ng1
11 Department of Tissue Pathology and Diagnostic Oncology, 2 Department of Medical Genomics, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia ; 3 Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia ; 4 Lifehouse Cancer Centre, The Chris O'Brien Lifehouse, Sydney, Australia ; 5 Kinghorn Cancer Centre, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, Australia ; 6 School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
BRAF mutations are found in a small fraction of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases. Further research into BRAF-inhibitors is warranted for this patient group.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- BRAF is a proto-oncogene.
- BRAF mutations are prevalent in melanoma and papillary thyroid carcinoma.
- BRAF activation promotes cell proliferation and survival.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence of BRAF mutations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
- To analyze the clinicopathological features of BRAF-mutated NSCLC.
- To assess the association of BRAF mutations with other driver mutations like EGFR and KRAS.
Main Methods:
- Mutation analysis for BRAF, EGFR, and KRAS using Sequenom MassARRAY.
- Review of pathological features.
- Immunohistochemistry for BRAF V600E.
Main Results:
- BRAF mutations were identified in 2.6% (7/273) of NSCLC cases.
- The majority of BRAF mutations were V600E (58%).
- BRAF-mutated NSCLC cases lacked EGFR and KRAS mutations.
Conclusions:
- BRAF mutations are infrequent in NSCLC and typically occur in tumors without other common driver mutations.
- The clinicopathological profile of BRAF-mutated NSCLC differs from EGFR-mutated tumors.
- BRAF-inhibitors may offer therapeutic potential for a subset of NSCLC patients.
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