Description
Mekinist is a cancer medicine used to treat adults whose cancer cells have a specific genetic mutation (change) in their genes called ‘BRAF V600’. It is used for the treatment of:
- melanoma (a skin cancer) that has spread or cannot be removed surgically. Mekinist is used on its own or in combination with another cancer medicine, dabrafenib;
- advanced (stage III) melanoma after surgery for it. Mekinist is used in combination with dabrafenib;
- advanced non-small cell lung cancer. It is used in combination with dabrafenib.
Mekinist has been studied in patients whose cancer had the BRAF V600 mutation.
Melanoma
Mekinist was more effective than the cancer medicines dacarbazine or paclitaxel at controlling melanoma that had spread to other parts of the body or could not be removed surgically. This was based on a main study involving 322 patients who received either Mekinist or the comparator medicine and which measured how long patients lived until their disease got worse. Patients taking Mekinist lived on average for 4.8 months before their disease getting worse, compared with 1.5 months for patients given dacarbazine or paclitaxel.
In an additional study Mekinist did not show any benefit when given to patients who did not respond to previous treatment with another cancer medicine that blocked BRAF.
The European Medicines Agency decided that Mekinist’s benefits in cancers that carry the BRAF V600 mutation are greater than its risks and it can be authorised for use in the EU.
Download for details: MEKINIST
