Combined targeted therapy and immunotherapy in melanoma: a review of the impact on the tumor microenvironment and outcomes of early clinical trials.

ABSTRACT: The development of BRAF and MEK inhibitors (BRAFis and MEKis) and immune checkpoint inhibitors have changed the management of advanced stage melanoma and improved the outcomes of patients with this malignancy. However, both therapeutic approaches have limitations, including a limited duration of benefit in subsets of BRAF-mutant melanoma patients treated with targeted therapy and a lower overall response rate without a clear predictive biomarker in patients treated with checkpoint inhibitors. Preclinical and translational data have shown that BRAFis and MEKis alter the tumor microenvironment to make it more amenable to immunotherapy and have provided the scientific rationale for combing BRAFis and MEKis with immunotherapy. In this review, the initial studies demonstrating the impact of BRA

SUBMITTER: Pelster MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6384439 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature