Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

BRAF mutations in papillary carcinomas of the thyroid

Oncogene volume 22, pages 6455–6457 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

BRAF is a serine/threonine kinase that receives a mitogenic signal from RAS and transmits it to the MAP kinase pathway. Recent studies have reported that mutations of the BRAF gene were detected with varying frequencies in several cancers, notably more than 60% in melanoma. We analysed mutations of BRAF and RAS genes in 100 cases of thyroid carcinoma to investigate genetic aberrations in the RAS/RAF/MEK/MAP kinase pathway. BRAF mutations were detected exclusively in papillary carcinomas (40 in 76 cases: 53%), and were exclusively V599E, a mutation frequently observed in other carcinomas. NRAS mutation was observed in six cases (6%), all in histological types other than papillary carcinoma, and was exclusively Q61R. No mutations were found in KRAS or HRAS. Our results suggest that BRAF mutations may play a critical role in the carcinogenesis of papillary carcinoma of the thyroid.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1

Abbreviations

BRAF:

v-raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homologe B1

MAP kinase:

mitogen-activated protein kinase

MEK kinase:

mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase

References

  • Busca R, Abbe P, Mantoux F, Aberdam E, Peyssonnaux C, Eychene A, Ortonne JP and Ballotti R . (2000). EMBO J., 19, 2900–2910.

  • Davies H, Bignell GR, Cox C, Stephens P, Edkins S, Clegg S, Teague J, Woffendin H, Garnett MJ, Bottomley W, Davis N, Dicks E, Ewing R, Floyd Y, Gray K, Hall S, Hawes R, Hughes J, Kosmidou V, Menzies A, Mould C, Parker A, Stevens C, Watt S, Hooper S, Wilson R, Jayatilake H, Gusterson BA, Cooper C, Shipley J, Hargrave D, Pritchard-Jones K, Maitland N, Chenevix-Trench G, Riggins GJ, Bigner DD, Palmieri G, Cossu A, Flanagan A, Nicholson A, Ho JW, Leung SY, Yuen ST, Weber BL, Seigler HF, Darrow TL, Paterson H, Marais R, Marshall CJ, Wooster R, Stratton MR and Futreal PA. (2002). Nature, 417, 949–954.

  • Halaban R . (2000). Pigment Cell Res., 13, 4–14.

  • Lazzereschi D, Minicione G, Coppa A, Ranieri A, Turco A, Baccheschi G, Pelicano S and Colletta G. . (1997). J. Exp. Clin. Cancer Res., 16, 325–332.

  • Learoyd DL, Messian M, Zedenius J and Robinson BG . (2000). World J. Surg., 24, 923–933.

  • Ledent C, Parmentier M, Maenhaut C, Taton M, Pirson I, Lamy F, Roger P and Dumont JE . (1991). Thyroidology, 3, 97–101.

  • Manenti G, Pilotti S, Re FC, Della Porta G and Pierotti MA . (1994). Eur. J. Cancer, 30, 987–993.

  • Naoki K, Chen TH, Richards WG, Sugarbaker DJ and Meyerson M . (2002). Cancer Res., 62, 7001–7003.

  • Pierotti MA, Bongarzone I, Borello MG, Greco A, Pilotti S and Sozzi G . (1996). Genes Chromosom. Cancer, 16, 1–14.

  • Sebolt-Leopold JS . (2000). Oncogene, 27, 6594–6599.

  • Sugg SL, Ezzat S, Zheng L, Freeman JL, Rosen IB and Asa SL . (1999). Surgery, 125, 46–52.

  • Yuen ST, Davies H, Chan TL, Ho JW, Bignell GR, Cox C, Stephens P, Edkins S, Tsui WW, Chan AS, Futreal PA, Stratton MR, Wooster R and Leung SY . (2002). Cancer Res., 62, 6451–6455.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Fukushima Medical University, 1-Hikarigaoka, Fukushima, 960-1295, Japan

    Toshihiko Fukushima, Shinichi Suzuki, Miyuki Mashiko, Tohru Ohtake, Yoshiyuki Endo, Yuji Takebayashi, Koji Sekikawa & Seiichi Takenoshita

  2. Department of Respiratory Medicine, Saitama Medical School, 38 Morohongo, Moroyama-machi, Iruma-gun, Saitama, 350-0495, Japan

    Koichi Hagiwara

Authors
  1. Toshihiko Fukushima
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Shinichi Suzuki
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Miyuki Mashiko
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Tohru Ohtake
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yoshiyuki Endo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Yuji Takebayashi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Koji Sekikawa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Koichi Hagiwara
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Seiichi Takenoshita
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Toshihiko Fukushima.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Fukushima, T., Suzuki, S., Mashiko, M. et al. BRAF mutations in papillary carcinomas of the thyroid. Oncogene 22, 6455–6457 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1206739

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1206739

Keywords

  • BRAF
  • RAS
  • papillary carcinoma of the thyroid
  • follicular carcinoma of the thyroid
  • MAP kinase pathway

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links