BRAF Genetic Test

A BRAF genetic test uses a sample of tumor tissue, bone marrow, or blood to look for changes in a gene called BRAF. Changes in your genes are also called gene variants or mutations. The test is usually done to look for changes in the BRAF gene that may be involved in cancer.

Genes are parts of DNA in your cells that you inherit from your parents. Genes carry information that controls what you look like and how your body works. The BRAF gene provides instructions for making a protein that tells your cells when to grow and divide to make new cells.

Certain changes in your BRAF gene may change the gene's instructions and lead to BRAF proteins that are too active. These abnormal BRAF proteins trigger too much cell growth. As a result, cells that have the changed BRAF gene may grow out of control and become cancer.

Changed BRAF genes and their proteins are commonly found in melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer. Changes are also found in several other types of cancer, including colon, thyroid, ovarian, lung, and certain blood cancers. Cancers with changes in the BRAF gene tend to grow more quickly than cancers that don't have this gene change.

Knowing whether your cancer has a changed BRAF gene can help your health care provider choose the most effective treatment for you. Changes in your BRAF genes can be acquired or inherited from your parents: Acquired changes in your BRAF genes develop sometime after you're born. Most changes in BRAF genes are acquired.

These changes can happen if your cells make a mistake when they divide to make new cells. Changes can also happen if you're exposed to substances that cause cancer. Acquired changes in genes show up only in certain types of cells.

They're usually not in sperm or egg cells, so you can't pass them down to children.; Inherited changes in your genes are changes that you're born with. All the cells in your body have the gene change, including your egg or sperm cells. That means you can pass the change down to your children.

Inherited changes in the BRAF gene are very rare, but they can increase your risk of cancer or cause different types of genetic conditions that are present from birth.;

Why this test is done

You may need a BRAF genetic test if you:

• Have a cancer that could be caused by changes in your BRAF gene. The results from a BRAF genetic test can help your provider:
• Predict how fast your cancer may grow.
• Know whether targeted treatment is likely to help you. Targeted treatment for cancer with changes in BRAF genes blocks or slows the abnormal proteins that make cancer grow. These medicines could be harmful if they are prescribed for cancers that don't have changed BRAF genes. So BRAF testing is needed to match you with the best treatment for your cancer.
• Understand how your cancer may respond to treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
• Have a personal or family health history that increases your risk of cancer involving inherited changes in your BRAF gene. A BRAF genetic test can help you estimate and manage your cancer risk. The test can also show whether you could pass a changed BRAF gene to your children.
• Have a family health history of a genetic condition caused by BRAF gene changes. BRAF genetic testing can help you understand if you and your partner have BRAF gene changes that you could pass to your children.

If you're considering a BRAF gene test to look for an inherited gene change, a genetic counselor can help you consider the pros and cons of this test.

How to prepare

If you're having a blood test, you usually don't need any special preparations. Ask your provider about how to prepare for other types of BRAF gene tests.

Sample type

Blood Tissue/Biopsy

Other names for this test

BRAF gene mutation analysis, Melanoma, BRAF V600 mutation