encorafenib and Skin-Diseases

Tremendous progress has been made in the clinical landscape of advanced-stage. Targeted therapy with BRAF plus MEK inhibitors has become the standard of care for patients with advanced-stage

Topics: Antineoplastic Agents; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Azetidines; Benzimidazoles; Carbamates; Fever; Humans; Imidazoles; Indoles; Melanoma; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases; Oximes; Piperidines; Protein Kinase Inhibitors; Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf; Pyridones; Pyrimidinones; Skin Diseases; Sulfonamides; Vemurafenib

Patients with advanced melanoma have a poor prognosis. Since the discovery of BRAF mutations in cutaneous melanoma, new pharmacological agents have been developed to inhibit this target. Although the survival of patients with advanced melanoma has improved with BRAF inhibitors, the emergence of drug resistance and the high incidence of cutaneous side effects represent important limitations. The aim of our study was to compare the incidence of cutaneous side effects between BRAF inhibitor monotherapy and BRAF and MEK inhibitor combination therapy in our cohort of patients. This study was a longitudinal prospective observational study. The study population comprised 83 patients with advanced cutaneous melanoma presenting with BRAF V600 mutation. The inclusion criteria included: age above 18 years, metastatic cutaneous melanoma or melanoma with high risk of metastasis, the presence of BRAF V600 mutation, and treatment with BRAF inhibitors or a combination of BRAF and MEK inhibitors. The majority of patients developed skin toxicity during treatment. The most common cutaneous side effects were localized hyperkeratosis and verrucous keratosis. Other cutaneous side effects observed were photosensitivity, squamous cell carcinoma, and keratoacanthoma. Our results indicate that cutaneous side effects are generally observed during BRAF inhibitor monotherapy and are significantly different from those observed in patients treated with combination therapy.

Topics: Adult; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Benzimidazoles; Carbamates; Humans; Imidazoles; Indoles; MAP Kinase Kinase Kinases; Melanoma; Melanoma, Cutaneous Malignant; Mutation; Oximes; Prospective Studies; Protein Kinase Inhibitors; Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf; Pyridones; Pyrimidinones; Skin Diseases; Skin Neoplasms; Sulfonamides; Vemurafenib