Result Analysis of BRAF V600E Gene Mutation Using Molecular and Immunohistochemistry Detection in Acral Malignant Melanoma

Background and Objective: Detection of BRAF V¬600E gene mutation in Malignant Melanoma (MM) is essential in offering anti BRAF targeted therapy for MM patients. Expression of BRAF V600E mutant protein detected using immunohistochemistry (IHC) is affordable, rapid, and reliable. This study aimed to measure the sensitivity and specificity of IHC compared to BRAFV 600E immunoexpression by molecular detection. Method: This study used a paraffin block of acral MM patients to analyze BRAF V600E mutation status using anti-BRAF V600E IHC compared to Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT PCR) which is a gold standard. Result: In total, ninety-six samples were tested using IHC and RT-PCR. RT-PCR showed that 15 (15.6%) samples were positive for BRAF V600E mutation. The sensitivity and specificity for IHC were 73.3% and 87.6% respectively. Concordance value of IHC was 85.4%. There were 10 false positives and 4 false negatives. IHC staining may be applied as early detection of BRAFV600E mutation in MM patients that are going to receive anti BRAF targeted therapy.