Targeted therapy is cancer treatment that focuses on specific molecules within cancer cells. The drugs work by blocking the function of abnormal molecules to slow the growth and spread of cancer, such as melanoma.
Systemic cancer treatments, including targeted therapy, reach parts of your body through the bloodstream. Such drugs fight cancer cells that have metastasized, or spread, from the original tumor to other areas.
Vemurafenib (Zelboraf) is a drug that shrinks tumors and helps patients with advanced melanoma live longer.
Vemurafenib is a BRAF (pronounced bee-raff) inhibitor, which:
Vemurafenib blocks the activity of a mutated protein called BRAF, a molecule that helps regulate cell growth. A BRAF mutation signals cells to develop abnormally and divide out of control. These cells grow into a melanoma tumor.
About half of all melanomas have a BRAF mutation. Vemurafenib specifically targets the V600E mutated BRAF protein. The drug interferes with abnormal BRAF signals to slow or stop the out-of-control cell growth.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved vemurafenib in 2011 to treat patients in advanced stages of melanoma:
Vemurafenib works only in patients who have tested positive for the BRAF V600E mutation. If you have advanced melanoma, your physician will have your melanoma tested for the mutation before prescribing Zelboraf. The physician will send a biopsy (sample of cancer tissue removed from your body) to a special lab for analysis.
Patients take vemurafenib orally (swallowing by mouth).
Vemurafenib works to target melanoma cells with the goals of:
Results from a large Phase III clinical trial showed that vemurafenib improved patient outcomes better than DTIC (dacarbazine), a chemotherapy drug.
Melanoma treatments, like vemurafenib, have side effects, which can sometimes be serious. Patients should talk with their physician to learn more about the side effects of vemurafenib and other melanoma treatment options.
Because every patient is different, not all treatments will work for everyone. Your physician can determine whether vemurafenib may be right for you.
If you are interested in learning more about vemurafenib, here are some questions you should ask your physicians:
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 that have been approved by the FDA for treating advanced melanoma:
