Do Targeted Agents Aid Melanoma Immunotherapy?
Source: Modern Medicine Network, January 2019
Guy Ben-Betzalel, MD, is an oncologist at the Ella Lemelbaum Institute for Immuno-Oncology in Ramat-Gan, Israel, where he treats patients with skin cancer and studies the roles of immune response in targeted antimelanoma treatment outcomes. Cancer Network spoke with Ben-Betzalel about the promise of BRAF+MEK inhibition’s interactions with antitumor immunity and potential role in the development of combinatorial immunotherapy regimens.
Cancer Network: What is the emerging role of targeted BRAF+MEK inhibition in antitumor immunity, and what are the implications for clinical oncology?
Dr. Ben-Betzalel: We do know BRAF+MEK inhibition causes immune activation and there is some reasoning in possibly giving this therapy before progression on immunotherapy, where the immune system might be exhausted.