Encorafenib, Binimetinib May Be Effective in BRAF-Mutant Melanoma

Source: Cancer Therapy Advisor, April 2018

Encorafenib with binimetinib may be a promising combination for patients with BRAF­-mutant melanoma, according to research published in The Lancet Oncology.1
Up to half of patients with melanoma have a BRAFV600 mutation, which can be treated effectively with BRAF or MEK inhibitors including vemurafenib, though treatment resistance almost always develops, often via MAPK pathway reactivation. Encorafenib has, however, shown preclinical activity in tissues with activated MAPK pathways.
For the randomized, open-label phase 3 COLUMBUS trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01909453), researchers enrolled 1345 patients with locally advanced, unresectable, or metastatic melanoma with a BRAFV600 mutation to receive encorafenib with binimetinib (192 patients), encorafenib monotherapy (194 patients), or vemurafenib (191 patients). The median age in the encorafenib with binimetinib, encorafenib, and vemurafenib groups was 57, 54, and 56 years, respectively, most patients in all groups had stage IV disease, and about a third of patients in each group had received prior immunotherapy.