Drug hope for advanced melanoma
Skin cancer, which is caused by excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation, generally from the sun, is the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer. The most deadly form of this cancer, melanoma, claims many lives around the world every year. Currently melanoma is very difficult to treat when it is at an advanced stage, with less than 5% of those diagnosed with malignant melanoma which has spread around the body, live for more than two years. However UK scientists believe that they have discovered a drug that can treat the melanoma skin cancer in its most advanced incurable stages.
Two UK scientists, Roche and Plexxikon, have discovered that an experimental drug, PLX4032 (R7204) has the potential to help many patients with the incurable disease live longer and keep the disease in check. They presented their findings at a recent renowned US cancer meeting.
60% of malignant melanomas are implicated with a mutation called the BRAF mutation. The PLX4032 drug works by seeking out and destroying tumour cells which carry this mutation. This can help to not only shrink the size of the skin cancer, but also delay its spread. The early findings of their study involving 16 patients, with BRAF positive melanoma and treated with PLX4032, saw that over half of the patients saw the extent of their cancer reduce by at least 30%. These patients also lived for a median of six months without their disease getting worse. This included patients where the cancer had spread to the liver, lung and bone.
Current treatments for advanced melanoma, such as chemotherapy, can lead to an improvement in symptoms and quality of life but does not greatly extend life as this drug has the potential to do. The results are very exciting especially in areas such as Queensland which holds claim to the title “skin cancer capital of the world”, however there is still a long way to go. Dr Jodie Moffat of Cancer Research UK said: “While these results are interesting, they need to be followed up in much larger studies before we know if this is a new treatment for people with advanced melanoma.”
Two UK scientists, Roche and Plexxikon, have discovered that an experimental drug, PLX4032 (R7204) has the potential to help many patients with the incurable disease live longer and keep the disease in check. They presented their findings at a recent renowned US cancer meeting.
60% of malignant melanomas are implicated with a mutation called the BRAF mutation. The PLX4032 drug works by seeking out and destroying tumour cells which carry this mutation. This can help to not only shrink the size of the skin cancer, but also delay its spread. The early findings of their study involving 16 patients, with BRAF positive melanoma and treated with PLX4032, saw that over half of the patients saw the extent of their cancer reduce by at least 30%. These patients also lived for a median of six months without their disease getting worse. This included patients where the cancer had spread to the liver, lung and bone.
Current treatments for advanced melanoma, such as chemotherapy, can lead to an improvement in symptoms and quality of life but does not greatly extend life as this drug has the potential to do. The results are very exciting especially in areas such as Queensland which holds claim to the title “skin cancer capital of the world”, however there is still a long way to go. Dr Jodie Moffat of Cancer Research UK said: “While these results are interesting, they need to be followed up in much larger studies before we know if this is a new treatment for people with advanced melanoma.”
By Hannah Brodie - 41770436
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