ARAF

Overview

ARAF (A-Raf proto-oncogene, serine/threonine kinase) is a member of the RAF kinase family involved in MAPK/ERK signaling. Unlike BRAF and CRAF (RAF1), ARAF is less commonly altered in cancer but has been identified as a subclonal somatic mutation in rare tumor types including breast adenoid cystic carcinoma (AdCC).

Alterations observed in the corpus

  • Subclonal missense mutation in at least one breast adenoid cystic carcinoma (AdCC) case; identified as a non-passenger event in a WES cohort of 12 breast AdCCs; associated with intra-tumor heterogeneity at diagnosis PMID:26095796
  • 2 hotspot S214Y/S214P missense mutations in LUAD (MSK-IMPACT cohort, n=860); S214 alleles are sorafenib-sensitive in prior preclinical work PMID:28336552

Cancer types (linked)

  • ACBC / BRCA: subclonal ARAF mutation in breast AdCC; tumor carries recurrent MYB-NFIB fusion and low overall mutation rate (0.27 non-silent mutations/Mb) PMID:26095796

Co-occurrence and mutual exclusivity

  • Occurs in the context of MYB-NFIB fusion-positive breast AdCCs; co-occurs with other subclonal drivers (FBXW7, MTOR, KMT2D, CDH1) suggesting polyclonal architecture PMID:26095796

Therapeutic relevance

  • Authors note that subclonal driver mutations including ARAF may underlie therapeutic escape; no specific ARAF-directed therapeutics tested in this study PMID:26095796

Open questions

  • Clinical significance of subclonal ARAF mutations in low-instability, indolent breast AdCC tumors remains to be elucidated PMID:26095796

Sources

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