Cancer researchers are developing new ways to treat advanced melanoma with greater success for patients. Targeted therapy is a new, effective treatment option that can shrink cancer cells and tumors and help patients with melanoma live longer.
Vemurafenib (Zelboraf) and cobimetinib (Cotellic) are a combination therapy that blocks the activity of different molecules within cancer cells that cause the cancer to grow and spread. This combination of targeted therapies treats advanced melanoma more effectively than the single drugs while producing less serious side effects.
Vemurafenib is a BRAF (pronounced bee-raff) inhibitor, and cobimetinib is a MEK (pronounced meck) inhibitor. Each medication:
Learn more about vemurafenib (Zelboraf) as a single drug.
Vemurafenib blocks the activity of a mutated form of a molecule called BRAF. Cobimetinib blocks the activity of a molecule called MEK. BRAF and MEK are protein molecules that are important in regulating cell growth.
The BRAF V600E and V600K mutations signal cells to grow abnormally and divide out of control. These cells can become a melanoma tumor. About half of all melanomas have a BRAF mutation.
MEK receives signals from BRAF and other molecules in the cell. In melanoma treatment, researchers have found that blocking BRAF and MEK at the same time is more effective than blocking MEK alone.
The combination of vemurafenib and cobimetinib interferes with abnormal BRAF signals to slow or stop the out-of-control cell growth:
In 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of cobimetinib only in combination with vemurafenib to treat patients who have advanced stages of melanoma:
This combination therapy works only in patients whose melanoma has tested positive for the BRAF V600E or V600K mutation. If you have advanced melanoma, your physician will test you for specific genetic mutations before prescribing this medication combination. The physician will send a biopsy (sample of cancer tissue from your body) to a special lab for analysis.
Patients take both medications orally (swallowing by mouth).
The combination of vemurafenib and cobimetinib targets specific molecules that regulate cancer cell growth, with the goals of:
Results from a Phase III clinical trial in 2015 showed improved patient outcomes for patients taking vemurafenib and cobimetinib compared with patients taking vemurafenib alone.
Melanoma treatments, like vemurafenib and cobimetinib, have side effects, which can sometimes be serious. Patients should talk with their physician to learn more about the side effects of these and other melanoma treatment options.
Because everyone is different, not all treatments work for all patients with melanoma. If you are interested in learning more about the combination of vemurafenib and cobimetinib, here are some questions you should ask your physician:
Patient Assistant Programs (PAPs) are designed so that you still have access to the treatments you need, in any financial circumstance. Learn more about the manufacturer’s patient assistance program and other options here.
Manufacturer’s Patient Assistance
Learn more about the latest, most effective treatments for patients who have advanced melanoma:
The Melanoma Research Alliance is the largest, non-profit funder of melanoma research worldwide. Since 2007, we have directly funded over $131 million in innovative grants to improve prevention, detection, and treatment of melanoma. We have also leveraged an additional $415 million in outside funds for research. Learn more about our funded research.
