Dr. Atkins on the Efficacy of Dabrafenib/Trametinib in BRAF-Mutated Melanoma

Michael B. Atkins, MD, deputy director of the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the Scholl Professor and vice chair of the Department of Medical Oncology at Georgetown University Medical Center, discusses the efficacy of dabrafenib (Tafinlar) plus trametinib (Mekinist) in patients with BRAF-mutated melanoma.

Initial results from the phase 3 COMBI-AD trial (NCT01682083) demonstrated that patients with stage IIIA-IIIC BRAF-mutant melanoma resected to no evidence of disease achieved a significant progression-free survival benefit with dabrafenib plus trametinib over placebo, Atkins says.

Most recently, in the 5-year updated results, which were presented at the 2020 ASCO Virtual Scientific Program, after a median follow-up of 60 months, there continued to be a 16% difference in relapse-free survival, favoring the combination of dabrafenib/trametinib, Atkins concludes.