Improved survival with MEK inhibition in BRAF-mutated melanoma

Flaherty, Keith T; Robert, Caroline; Hersey, Peter; Nathan, Paul; Garbe, Claus; Milhem, Mohammed; Demidov, Lev V; Hassel, Jessica C; Rutkowski, Piotr; Mohr, Peter; Dummer, Reinhard; Trefzer, Uwe; Larkin, James MG; Utikal, Jochen; Dreno, Brigitte; Nyakas, Marta; Middleton, Mark R; Becker, Jürgen C; Casey, Michelle; Sherman, Laurie J; Wu, Frank S; Ouellet, Daniele; Martin, Anne-Marie; Patel, Kiran; Schadendorf, Dirk; METRIC Study Group,

doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1203421

Improved survival with MEK inhibition in BRAF-mutated melanoma

Author:

Flaherty, Keith T

Robert, Caroline ; Hersey, Peter ; Nathan, Paul ; Garbe, Claus ; Milhem, Mohammed ; Demidov, Lev V ; Hassel, Jessica C ; Rutkowski, Piotr ; Mohr, Peter ; Dummer, Reinhard ; Trefzer, Uwe ; Larkin, James MG ; Utikal, Jochen ; Dreno, Brigitte ; Nyakas, Marta ; Middleton, Mark R ; Becker, Jürgen C ; Casey, Michelle ; Sherman, Laurie J ; Wu, Frank S ; Ouellet, Daniele ; Martin, Anne-Marie ; Patel, Kiran ; Schadendorf, Dirk ; METRIC Study Group,

Keywords:

Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Antineoplastic Agents, Disease-Free Survival, Female, Humans, Intention to Treat Analysis, Kaplan-Meier Estimate, MAP Kinase Kinase 1, MAP Kinase Kinase 2, Male, Melanoma, Middle Aged, Mutation, Protein Kinase Inhibitors, Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf, Pyridones, Pyrimidinones, Young Adult, Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Medicine, General & Internal, General & Internal Medicine, MUTATIONS, PATHWAY, CANCER, KINASE, RESISTANCE, CRITERIA, METRIC Study Group, 11 Medical and Health Sciences, 32 Biomedical and clinical sciences, 42 Health sciences

Abstract:

Activating mutations in serine-threonine protein kinase B-RAF (BRAF) are found in 50% of patients with advanced melanoma. Selective BRAF-inhibitor therapy improves survival, as compared with chemotherapy, but responses are often short-lived. In previous trials, MEK inhibition appeared to be promising in this population.