BRAF and melanoma: Indeed, mutations in BRAF (V-raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B1), a human proto-oncogene member of the RAF (Rapidly growing Fibrosarcoma) family of serine-threonine kinases, have been identified in 50% of malignant melanomas (6), and approximately 40-70% of the cases show a missense mutation, with a substitution of valine with glutamic acid at codon 600 (denoted as V600E) (7).