ASCO 2017 | Targeted therapies for melanoma treatment: a round-up of the important data presented at ASCO 2017

Georgina V. Long, BSc, PhD, MBBS, FRACP, of the University of Sydney, Australia gives us an overview of the important findings on targeted therapies for melanoma presented at ASCO 2017. Data on the 5-year overall survival (OS) from the combination of dabrafenib and trametinib from an early Phase I/II trial (NCT01072175), has shown that there is a small proportion of BRAF V600-mutant unresectable or metastatic melanoma (MM) patients, particularly those who have a low volume of disease and a normal LDH baseline, who benefit from targeted therapies in the long-term.
Prof. Long explains that the activity of dabrafenib and trametinib in combination in the brain has also been another important topic at ASCO. Results of the COMBI-MB trial have shown that there is a great response rate in patients with BRAF V600-mutant melanoma brain metastases (MBM) (NCT02039947). However, although the progression-free survival (PFS) at 6 months is 46%, it is less than 20% at 12 months. This is different to what we see in the immunotherapy brain trials.
Recorded at the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) 2017 Annual Meeting held in Chicago, IL.