Article Revisions
Vemurafenib (dots) bound to B-RAF (ribbons) |
Vemurafenib is a recently approved chemotherapy available for melanoma treatment. It is an excellent demonstration of a targeted cancer therapy. It inhibits the activity of a mutated protein (BRAF) which bypasses the cell’s usual signals and leads to excessive cell growth (cancer). Vemurafenib only works in melanoma patients whose cancer has the V600E BRAF mutation (which means amino acid position number 600 on the BRAF protein, valine is replaced by glutamic acid). Approximately 60% of melanomas have this mutation. It is not known how often this mutation is present while melanoma is not detected. This new targeted chemotherapy was shown to extend survival time and shrink tumors better than dacarbazine, the standard of care choice for treating metastatic melanoma.
