BRAF

  • September 10, 2021  

    How an Expert Would Treat Her Own Metastatic Melanoma

    With: Pauline Funchain, MD

    Cancer patients often ask their doctors, “What would you do if you were me?” Here, our Curious Dr. George asks Cleveland Clinic oncologist Pauline Funchain, MD, how she would handle her own diagnosis of advanced melanoma. Curious Dr. George: What would you do if you personally were discovered on a routine exam to have abnormal liver function tests that led to scans and the… Read more »

  • August 16, 2021  

    The Latest in Melanoma Treatment: A Guest Perspective

    With: Ryan Sullivan, MD

    What’s new in melanoma treatment? Our chief scientist Emma Shtivelman, PhD, recently outlined the latest options. Here, our Curious Dr. George invites a response from Ryan Sullivan, MD, Associate Director of the Melanoma Program at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. Curious Dr. George: As a melanoma expert, what are your thoughts on the treatments outlined in our… Read more »

  • August 15, 2020  

    Pembrolizumab Provides Long-Term Benefit in Melanoma, Regardless of BRAF+ Status or Prior Targeted Therapy Bookmark

    George Lundberg, MD

    Article from OncLive curated by Editor in Chief George Lundberg, MD, who notes: 

    A new study shows that the drug pembrolizomab significantly prolongs survival in patients with metastatic melanoma, regardless of whether their tumors have mutations in the BRAF gene or if they’ve had prior treatment with targeted therapy.

    Go to full article published by OncLive.

    If you’re wondering whether this story applies to your own cancer case or a loved one’s, we invite you to get support from Cancer Commons.

  • December 26, 2019  

    Triplet Regimen Offers Improved Outcomes in BRAF-Mutant Colorectal Cancer Bookmark

    George Lundberg, MD

    Article from Cancer Network curated by Editor in Chief George Lundberg, MD, who notes: 

    In a phase III clinical trial, a triple-drug therapy nearly triples overall survival for patients with colorectal cancer.

    Go to full article published by Cancer Network.

    If you’re wondering whether this story applies to your own cancer case or a loved one’s, we invite you to get support from Cancer Commons.

  • July 1, 2019  

    Can Preclinical Data Guide Clinical Cancer Therapy?

    With: Keith Flaherty, MD

    A Q&A with Keith Flaherty, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Director of Developmental Therapeutics, Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital; kflaherty@mgh.harvard.edu Originally published Aug 31, 2016 Q: Under what circumstances and to what extent are you willing to take clinical actions on a cancer patient based primarily on preclinical data? A: There are two scenarios that come to mind when thinking about… Read more »

  • April 3, 2019  

    What’s New in Melanoma Treatment in 2019?

    Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    It has been over a year since I last wrote about new developments in treatment of melanoma, and it is time for an update. There is certainly some good news for melanoma patients! Neoadjuvant (before surgery) treatments for resectable melanoma Stage III—and more rarely, stage IV—melanoma tumors that have not spread widely can be sometimes treated surgically. Last year a small clinical trial showed… Read more »

  • October 1, 2018  

    BRAF-MEK Inhibitor Combo Extends Survival in BRAF-Mutant Melanoma Bookmark

    Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Excerpt from Cancer Network:

    “The combination of encorafenib and binimetinib resulted in longer overall survival (OS) compared with vemurafenib in patients with BRAF V600–mutant melanoma, according to results of the COLUMBUS trial. Combined with an earlier report showing improved progression-free survival (PFS), this suggests the regimen should become an important option in this setting.

    “Small-molecule BRAF inhibitors, originally introduced as monotherapy, offered improvements in outcomes for these melanoma patients. ‘However, response durations were short and BRAF inhibitor treatment was associated with the development of squamous cell skin cancer and other skin toxicities related to paradoxical MAPK pathway activation,’ wrote study authors led by Reinhard Dummer, MD, of University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland. Combinations of BRAF and MEK inhibition have improved the situation further, but better treatment options are still needed.”

    Go to full article published by Cancer Network on Sep 26, 2018.

    If you’re wondering whether this story applies to your own cancer case or a loved one’s, we invite you to get support from Cancer Commons.

  • September 18, 2018  

    Overall Survival Improved With Encorafenib/Binimetinib Combination in BRAF-Mutant Melanoma Bookmark

    Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Excerpt from The ASCO Post:

    “In patients with advanced BRAF V600–mutant melanoma, combining the BRAF inhibitor encorafenib (Braftovi) with the MEK inhibitor binimetinib (Mektovi) improved overall survival compared to vemurafenib (Zelboraf) or encorafenib as monotherapy, with a favorable toxicity profile, according to updated results from the phase III COLUMBUS trial.

    “Combined BRAF/MEK inhibitor therapy is standard of care in advanced BRAF V600–mutant melanoma, but approved combinations have unique toxicities that may impact the ability to deliver optimal treatment (ie, vemurafenib/cobimetinib [Cotellic] is associated with photosensitivity).”

    Go to full article published by The ASCO Post on Sep 10, 2018.

    If you’re wondering whether this story applies to your own cancer case or a loved one’s, we invite you to get support from Cancer Commons.

  • February 19, 2018  

    New Developments in Melanoma Treatment

    Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Neoadjuvant (before-surgery) treatments for resectable melanoma Neoadjuvant treatments are the mainstay in the care of patients with breast, colon, and other cancers, but have not traditionally been used in melanoma. This has changed now, with the publication of a report showing that patients with resectable stage III or IV BRAF-mutant melanoma benefit from treatment with the BRAF/MEK inhibitor drugs dabrafenib and trametinib prior to… Read more »

  • January 16, 2018  

    Targetable Mutations in NSCLC: More Testing Needed!

    Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Diagnosis of adenocarcinoma of the lung, a major subtype of non-small lung cancer (NSCLC), nowadays triggers mandatory testing of tumor tissue for alterations in four genes: EGFR, ALK, ROS1, and more recently, BRAF. If present, these alterations predict sensitivity to specific targeted drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that work better and often longer than standard chemotherapy, and are better… Read more »