BRAF and melanoma: BRAFv600 mutations constitutively activate BRAF and upregulate the downstream signal transduction in the RAS/MAPK pathway, which, in turn, regulates cell growth, differentiation, migration, and apoptosis, affecting fundamental processes in melanoma cells, including carcinogenesis, proliferation, progression, and immune escape (Maurer et al. 2011; Ascierto et al. 2012).