According to Phase II trial results published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib (Zelboraf) almost doubles the median overall survival in a specific subset of melanoma patients, notably, in about fifty percent of BRAF V600-mutated metastatic melanoma.
The trial recruited 132 previously treated patients with BRAF V600-mutated metastatic melanoma. These patients typically have a median survival of anywhere between six and ten months. According to the study's findings, these patients' median overall survival was boosted to 15.9 months.
Said Jeffrey Sosman, MD, director of the Melanoma Program at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and one of the co-principal directors of the study, "Many of our patients are exhibiting a strong, immediate response to this drug and some are living significantly longer, with manageable side effects."
Vemurafenib is a twice-daily pill that blocks the BRAF protein in melanoma cells that encourage tumor growth. Unfortunately, as was posted here in January, the drug has a tendency to cause secondary skin cancers in some patients receiving it.
Source: OncLive
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