Rationale for MEK/BRAF Combinations in Melanoma

Keith T. Flaherty, MD, professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, director of Clinical Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses the rationale for combining agents like dabrafenib (Tafinlar) with trametinib (Mekinist) or binimetinib (Mektovi) with encorafenib (Braftovi) for patients with melanoma.

We’ve known for a number of years that mutatedBRAFis a bonafide therapeutic target for this patient population, Flaherty explains. Approximately 45% of patients with melanoma have activating mutations in BRAF. Around 2009, vemurafenib (Zelboraf) and dabrafenib came along and proved thatBRAFmutations were therapeutic targets. Within a few years, these drugs were FDA-approved for this patient population.