Study Probes Immune Context Differences in BRAF-Mutant, Wild-Type Melanoma

Source: AJMC, April 2022

Patients with BRAF-mutant melanoma have significantly different immune microenvironments compared with patients with BRAF wild-type melanoma, according to a new study published in Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer.

The findings could lead to a better understanding of why certain therapies work or do not work in patients with different types of melanoma, the study investigators noted.

About 4 in 10 melanomas have BRAF mutations, the majority of which are BRAF V600 mutations characterized by the substitution of glutamic acid for valine at amino acid 600, they wrote. In patients with BRAF V600 mutations, the combination of BRAF and MEK inhibition often boosts survival, but the investigators said the benefits of the therapy tend to be short lived, with a progression-free survival of only about 12 months.

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