Uncontrolled growth is a necessary step for the development of all cancers.  In many cancers (e.g. melanoma), a defect in the MAP/ERK pathway leads to that uncontrolled growth. Many compounds can inhibit steps in the MAP/ERK pathway, and therefore are potential drugs for treating cancer, such as Hodgkin disease.
The first drug licensed to act on this pathway is sorafenib — a Raf kinase inhibitor.  Other Raf inhibitors include SB590885, PLX4720, XL281, RAF265, encorafenib, dabrafenib, and vemurafenib.
Some MEK inhibitors include cobimetinib, CI-1040, PD0325901, binimetinib (MEK162), selumetinib, and trametinib (GSK1120212)
It has been found that acupoint-moxibustion has a role in relieving alcohol-induced gastric mucosal injury in a mouse model, which may be closely associated with its effects in up-regulating activities of the epidermal growth factor/ERK signal transduction pathway.
RAF-ERK pathway is also involved in the pathophysiology of Noonan syndrome, a polymalformative disease.
Protein microarray analysis can be used to detect subtle changes in protein activity in signaling pathways. The developmental syndromes caused by germline mutations in genes that alter the RAS components of the MAP/ERK signal transduction pathway are called RASopathies.