title: BRAF and KRAS mutations in prostatic adenocarcinoma.
abstract: Constitutive activation of the kinase cascade involving RAS, RAF, MEK and ERK is common to human cancers, and mutations of KRAS and BRAF are mutually exclusive and serve as alternatives to activate the RAS/RAF/ERK signaling pathway. RAS mutations are known to occur in prostate adenocarcinomas, but little is known about BRAF mutations in these tumors. In the present study, BRAF and KRAS mutations were characterized in 206 prostate adenocarcinomas by enhanced PCR-RFLP and direct sequencing. The identified KRAS and BRAF mutations were then analyzed with respect to preoperative serum PSA levels, Gleason scores and tumor stages. Mutations in codon 600 of BRAF were identified in 21 (10.2%) of 206 prostate adenocarcinomas. KRAS mutations in codons 12 or 13 were found in 15 (7.3%) of 206 prostate adenocarcinomas. However, no tumor specimen contained both BRAF and KRAS mutations. Prostate adenocarcinomas with a BRAF mutation tended to show higher preoperative serum PSA levels, Gleason scores and tumor stages than prostate adenocarcinomas with a KRAS mutation. The results obtained show that BRAF mutations are as uncommon as KRAS mutations in prostate adenocarcinoma. Although BRAF and KRAS are members of the same RAS/ERK signaling pathway, prostate adenocarcinomas with a BRAF mutation showed clinicopathologic features that differed from those of prostate adenocarcinoma with a KRAS mutation.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Epigenetics, Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Nam-Yun
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Minhee
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Baek-Hee
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Yong-Mee
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Kyung Chul
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Gyeong Hoon
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Kang
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D000368:Aged; D001483:Base Sequence; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D015689:Oncogene Protein p21(ras) / Q000235:genetics*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D048493:Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C482119:BRAF protein, human; D048493:Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf; D015689:Oncogene Protein p21(ras)