Trials with drugs that target BRAF have generated excitement for their ability to quickly shrink melanoma tumors in suitable patients. But for many patients the benefits proved short-lived, as the cancer cells develop resistance to the drugs. New phase I and II trials focusing on combining drugs to slow the development of resistance to drugs that inhibit BRAF, a gene that is mutated in about half of melanomas presented at ESMO 2012, the…

Late breaking data from a Phase III study presented at the 48th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) shows that the oral investigational drug trametinib (GlaxoSmithKline) delayed tumor growth and extended survival for patients with advanced melanoma who have BRAF mutations, compared with standard chemotherapy. This is the first Phase III trial…

The European Commission has approved vemurafenib (Zelboraf^TM, Roche) as a monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with BRAF V600 mutationpositive unresectable or metastatic melanoma. This form of melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer. Vemurafenib is designed to target and inhibit mutated forms of the BRAF protein found in about half of all cases of melanoma.



When melanoma is…

Researchers have developed a new genetic screening tool that will aid in the investigation of possible treatments for patients with melanoma and the unique genetic mutations that may accompany the disease, according to data presented at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, held November 12-16, 2011 in San Francisco, CA, USA.



Heinz-Herbert Fiebig, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of medical oncology at the…

Findings from preclinical studies in a skin cancer model showed that next-generation BRAF inhibitors used alone, or first-generation BRAF inhibitors used in combination with an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR-) inhibitor, may have the potential to prevent drug-induced skin lesions (cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma)observed in BRAF mutation-positive patients treated for melanoma.



The studies, presented at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference:…

Earlier this week, during the annual meeting of the European Hematology Association (EHA) in London, professor Enrico Tiacci, M.D. from the Institute of Hematology in Perugia, Italy presented groundbreaking news on the cause of a specific, rare subtype of leukemia, so-called hairy cell leukemia (HCL). The average age of diagnosis is 55 and the diseases affects men more often than women.



“With modern…