16 March, 2012 by Neuschwanstein
THE drug vemurafenib is only the second major drug in the last 10 years that has been developed to treat late-stage melanoma, but we are extremely excited about it.
It works by blocking the mutation of the BRAF gene that is present in approximately half of patients, a gene that provides an addictive pathway to mutation for the cancer to divide and spread.
Vemurafenib blocks that mutation and switches off the gene in about 80 per cent of cases. It is a major step forward from traditional treatments which usually benefit just 10 per cent of patients.
It has only been licensed in Europe recently but it is difficult to underestimate the treatment as it is not chemotherapy, so you do not go through the nasty side effects which come with those kind of treatments.
Skin cancer
We are already using it and patients can respond to treatment in days and feel a whole lot better in a short space of time ? but at the same time it is expensive, costing about ?1,000-a-month.
This is a remarkable advancement and it is personal treatment ? we know there is an 80 per cent chance the patient is likely to benefit.
It is not a cure. The average effects last six to eight months, before the cancer becomes resistant to the drug but I must stress just what a hugely important advance this is for us.
We see it as a springboard to further research and study in efforts for a cure to this terrible disease.
Category Health | Tags: , BRAF gene, Cancer, chemotherapy, melanoma, skin cancer, Vemurafenib
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Source: http://lancastria.net/blog/vemurafenib-approved-for-skin-cancer-treatment.html
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