Encorafenib and Binimetinib Combination Therapy in Metastatic Melanoma

Abstract

The treatment landscape for metastatic melanoma has changed dramatically over the past few years as new medications have been developed. Encorafenib, a B-Raf protein kinase inhibitor, and binimetinib, a MEK inhibitor, were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2018 for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma which harbor a BRAF V600E or V600K mutation. These approvals were based on findings from the COLUMBUS trial, which demonstrated improvement in progression-free survival and overall survival with the combination of encorafenib plus binimetinib compared with vemurafenib alone. Encorafenib plus binimetinib is the third BRAF plus MEK inhibitor combination to be approved, and there are clinical and practical differences between the combination regimens that should be considered when selecting an appropriate treatment regimen for patients.