Concerned about a skin mole that has increased in size and darkened in color, a man visits a dermatologist.Based on a biopsy, the mole is diagnosed as melanoma, a form of cancer.A genomic analysis reveals a mutation in the BRAF gene, a commonly mutated gene in melanoma.The BRAF gene is the wild type in surrounding noncancerous cells.These data are evidence that

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The fact that the BRAF gene is mutated in the skin mole, but not in surrounding noncancerous cells, suggests that this is a somatic mutation that occurred during the replication of cells in the skin. It is not a germ line mutation that would be passed on to offspring. The fact that the mutation is present in the cancerous cells, but not in surrounding noncancerous cells, suggests that it was likely passed to daughter cells during mitotic replication.

Concerned About a Skin Mole That Has Increased in Size