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Updated: Mar 5, 2026

Characterize Disease-related Mutants of RAF Family Kinases by Using a Set of Practical and Feasible Methods
07:49

Characterize Disease-related Mutants of RAF Family Kinases by Using a Set of Practical and Feasible Methods

Published on: July 17, 2019

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Evaluation of EGFR, KRAS and BRAF gene mutations in renal cell carcinoma

Omer Bayrak1, Haluk Sen1, Ersan Bulut1

  • 1Department of Urology, Department of Physiology, Department of Pathology, University of Gaziantep, Gaziantep, Turkey; Department of Medical Genetics, University of Gazi, Ankara, Turkey.

Journal of Kidney Cancer and VHL
|March 23, 2017
PubMed

Insights

This study investigated mutations in EGFR, KRAS, and BRAF genes in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients. Researchers found no evidence of these specific mutations in RCC tumors, suggesting they may not be relevant biomarkers for anti-EGFR therapy response in this cancer.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) therapy shows promise in a subset of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients.
  • KRAS and BRAF mutations are linked to poor anti-EGFR therapy response in other cancers, prompting investigation in RCC.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the mutation status of EGFR, KRAS, and BRAF in patients with renal cell carcinoma.
  • To assess the potential of these mutations as biomarkers for predicting response to EGFR-targeted therapy in RCC.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of renal tumor and normal tissue samples from 48 RCC patients.
  • Histological classification of RCC subtypes (clear-cell, chromophobe, papillary).
  • Melting curve mutation analysis and DNA sequencing for EGFR, KRAS, and BRAF mutations.

Main Results:

  • No exon mutations in EGFR, KRAS, or BRAF were detected in the analyzed RCC samples.
  • The study did not find evidence supporting the presence of these mutations in renal cell carcinoma.

Conclusions:

  • The investigated mutations (EGFR, KRAS, BRAF) do not appear to be prevalent in renal cell carcinoma.
  • These findings suggest that screening for EGFR, KRAS, and BRAF mutations may not be a useful strategy for identifying RCC patients who would benefit from anti-EGFR therapy.

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