Dr. Flaherty on the Tolerability of Encorafenib/Binimetinib in Melanoma

Keith T. Flaherty, MD, director, Termeer Center for Targeted Therapy, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, discusses the tolerability of the combination of encorafenib (Braftovi) and binimetinib (Mektovi) in patients with melanoma.

In June 2018, the BRAF inhibitor encorafenib and the MEK inhibitor binimetinib were approved by the FDA for the treatment of patients with BRAF-mutant unresectable or metastatic melanoma, as detected by an FDA-approved test. This approval was based on findings from the phase III COLUMBUS trial, in which the combination showed a reduction in the risk of death by 39% versus vemurafenib (Zelboraf) monotherapy.

Flaherty says that patients are typically on this therapy for a long time. Therefore, safety and tolerability are critically important. Findings from the phase III trial confirmed that the safety profile for this combination is best-in-class, Flaherty says. It shares some of the same toxicity features as other BRAF/MEK combinations, but is overall less toxic. Flaherty says this combination is a big advance for patients with BRAF-mutant unresectable or metastatic melanoma.