New drugs promise to fight against melanoma

• April 24, 2024

Two new medications They have achieved prolong life of people diagnosed with advanced melanoma , this is a remarkable progress in the fight against this type of skin cancer.

The success of drugs is that they fight cancer in two ways, first by attacking genetic mutation specific that accelerates the growth of tumor , and the second allows the immune system of the body fighting the disease.

The results were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago, United States and published by the medical journal The New England Journal of Medicine.

The drugs they do not cure melanoma , more than in rare cases. However, experts say that it could increase the life expectancy of patients in advanced stages for several months . Currently the cases of melanoma with metastasis live between 6 and 10 months.

In the first test, 84% of patients who took the experimental drug vemurafenib , they remained alive after 6 months, compared to 64% of those who underwent chemotherapy medicine, called dacarbazine . Statistically, the risk of dying decreased 63%.

The effect so marked by the use of the drug made the researchers have to stop the test Due to ethical issues, in order to provide patients in the control group with the opportunity to test the medication.

The other experimental medication called ipilimumab , in combination with dacarbazine, extended the expectation of survival in 11.2 months , compared with the 9.1 months of those who received only dacarbzaine.

The common adverse effects of vemurafenib were fatigue , alopecia, arthralgia (pain in the joints), rash, photosensitivity, nausea , diarrhea , among others. 38% of patients required a change in dose due to toxic effects.

Experts warn that although new drugs for patients with metastatic melanoma they manage to live 2 more years, it does not represent much if you are 30 years old, and it is necessary to continue the investigations.

The number of cases of melanoma has been increasing, like no other type of cancer. Doctors believe that it is due to the sun exposure without protection for years, and the proliferation of solar-bed establishments for tan .

Vemurafenib It is one of the last medications considered as personalized therapy , which inhibits the effects of genetic mutations that make tumors and spread. It is taken orally twice a day, and is used only in half of patients with melanoma whose tumors have said mutation . Its intake reduces the size of the tumor in 50% of these cases.

It is expected that the United States Food and Drug Administration will approve it within a few months for its commercialization.

Source: The New York Times.

Video Medicine: Breakthroughs in the Treatments for Melanoma - Mayo Clinic (April 2024).