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Targeted and Immunotherapies
Read about cancer treatment options listed by gene mutation, type of cancer and type of treatment.Stay up to date on research and information
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Targeted and Immunotherapies for Melanoma
This section covers the following topics:
helps the body’s immune system to fight cancer. Two types of immunotherapies are commonly used to treat advanced melanoma:
- Immune checkpoint inhibitors are a type of used to treat melanoma. These include:
- Keytruda (pembrolizumab)
- Opdivo (nivolumab)
- Tecentriq (atezolizumab)
- Yervoy (ipilumumab)
- Imlygic (talimogene laherparepvec or T-VEC therapy) is a genetically engineered virus that is used to treat advanced melanoma. The medication is injected directly into the tumor to stimulate an immune response.
Targeted therapies for melanoma include:
- BRAF inhibitors
- BRAF inhibitors are oral medications that help slow down tumor growth in patients with advanced or recurrent melanoma that test positive for the tumor called a BRAF V600 mutation.
- About half of all melanomas have a tumor mutation in the BRAF gene.
- If your melanoma has a BRAF mutation often you will be treated with both a BRAF inhibitor and a MEK inhibitor. Combining these drugs often works better than either one alone.
- BRAF inhibitors include:
- Tafinlar (dabrafenib)
- Braftovi (encorafenib)
- Zelboraf (vemurafenib)
- MEK inhibitors
- MEK inhibitors are oral medications that are given alone or in combination with a BRAF inhibitor to treat melanoma in people with a BRAF V600 mutation.
- MEK inhibitors include:
- Mekinist (trametinib)
- Cotellic (cobimetinib)
- Mektovi (binimetinib)
Table of targeted and immunotherapies for melanoma
Name of drug | Type of agent | Cancer | Indication | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Braftovi (encorafenib) |
BRAF inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor) | Unresectable or melanoma |
Combined with Mektovi (binimetinib), for the treatment of people with unresectable or melanoma |
BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation |
Cotellic (cobimetinib) |
BRAF inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor) | Unresectable or melanoma | Combined with Zelboraf (vemurafenib) for the treatment of people with unresectable or melanoma | BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation |
Mekinist (trametinib) | MEK inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor) |
Melanoma | Combined with Taflinar (dabrafenib) as treatment of people with melanoma and involvement of lymph node(s), following complete resection | BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation |
Mekinist (trametinib) | MEK inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor) |
Unresectable or melanoma | As a single agent and in combination with dabrafenib for the treatment of unresectable or melanoma | BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation |
Mektovi (binimetinib | MEK inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor) |
Unresectable or melanoma | Combined with Braftovi (encorafenib), for the treatment of people with unresectable or melanoma | BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation |
Tafinlar (dabrafenib) |
BRAF inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor) | Unresectable or melanoma | Combined with Mekinist (trametinib) for the treatment of people with unresectable or melanoma | BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation |
Tafinlar (dabrafenib) |
BRAF inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor) | Unresectable or melanoma | Combined with Mekinist (trametinib) for the treatment of people with unresectable or melanoma | BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation |
Tafinlar (dabrafenib) |
BRAF inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor) | Melanoma | Combined with Mekinist (trametinib) as treatment of people with melanoma and involvement of lymph node(s), following complete resection | BRAF V600E or V600K tumor mutation |
Zelboraf |
BRAF inhibitor (type of kinase inhibitor) | Unresectable or melanoma | Combined with Tecentriq (atezolizumab) and Cotellic (cobimetinib) in people with melanoma that has the BRAF gene mutation, when the cancer can’t be removed by surgery or has spread to other parts of the body. | BRAF V600 mutations |
Tecentriq (atezolizumab) |
Immune checkpoint inhibitor | or unresectable melanoma |
Combined with Cotellic (cobimetinib) and vemurafenib in people with melanoma that has the BRAF gene mutation, when the cancer can’t be removed by surgery or has spread to other parts of the body. |
BRAF V600 mutations |
Keytruda (pembrolizumab) | Immune checkpoint inhibitor | or unresectable melanoma | For the treatment of people with melanoma | No required |
Keytruda (pembrolizumab) | Immune checkpoint inhibitor | Melanoma | For the treatment of people with involvement of lymph node(s) following complete removal of the cancer | No required |
Opdivo (nivolumab) |
Immune checkpoint inhibitor | or unresectable melanoma | As a single agent or combined with ipilimumab | No required |
Opdivo (nivolumab) |
Immune checkpoint inhibitor | or lymph node positive melanoma | For the treatment of people with following complete removal of the cancer | No required |
Yervoy (ipilumumab) | Immune checkpoint inhibitor | or unresectable melanoma | For the treatment of people with melanoma | No required |
Yervoy (ipilumumab) | Immune checkpoint inhibitor | Melanoma | treatment of people with cutaneous melanoma with spread to regional of more than 1 mm who have undergone complete removal of the cancer and | No required |
Imlygic (T-VEC or talimogene laherparepvec) | Cancer vaccine | Unresectable recurrent melanoma | For local treatment of cutaneous, subcutaneous, and lymph node lesions in people with melanoma that came back after initial surgery | No required |
Last updated February 14, 2024