Absence of BRAF mutation in pediatric and adolescent germ cell tumors indicate biological differences to adult tumors

The V600E mutation of the BRAF gene has been reported to be associated with poor prognosis of germ cell tumors in adult patients. We analyzed the mutational status of the BRAF and KRAS gene as well as MLH1 and MSH6 expression as surrogate markers for microsatellite instability in 70 pediatric germ cell tumors. Neither BRAF and KRAS mutations nor loss of MLH1 and MSH6 expression were found. Our data provide further evidence for patient age related biological differences in germ cell tumors and demonstrate that prognostic biomarkers cannot necessarily be transferred from one age group to the other.