Recent reports have indicated a central role for the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway in the tumorigenesis of pilocytic astrocytomas and showed that duplication at 7q34 leads to a fusion between KIAA1549 and BRAF resulting in constitutive activation of the BRAF kinase (Jones et al, 2008; Sievert et al, 2008). This evidence concerns the gene BRAF and pilocytic astrocytoma.