Dr. Long on Dabrafenib/Trametinib in BRAF V600E-Mutant Melanoma

Georgina V. Long, BSc, PhD, MBBS, FRACP, co-medical director of Melanoma Institute Australia (MIA), chair of Melanoma Medical Oncology and Translational Research at MIA and Royal North Shore Hospital, University of Sydney, discusses results from the 5-year analysis of the combination of dabrafenib and trametinib in patients with BRAF V600E-mutant melanoma.

Long presented the 5-year pooled data of the phase III COMBI-v and COMBI-d trials at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting. In both trials, investigators tested the combination versus a BRAF inhibitor alone. The COMBI-d trial looked at the combination compared with dabrafenib alone, while the COMBI-v trial looked at the combination compared with vemurafenib alone, says Long. The analysis encapsulated over 500 patients who received the combination. Data showed a 5-year overall survival (OS) rate of 34%. In certain populations, the 5-year OS rate exceeded 50%, adds Long.

The rate of progression-free survival (PFS) was approximately 50% in patients who achieved a complete response (CR), suggesting that the majority of patients who have a CR do not progress, explains Long. Furthermore, patients with a normal baseline lactate dehydrogenase level and less than 3 sites of metastases do very well. These data suggest that targeted therapy could potentially lead to cure; at the least it induces good long-term control in a proportion of patients. In the intent-to-treat population, just less than 20% of patients are progression-free at 5 years.