Dr. Besse on the Combination of Treatments for NSCLC

Benjamin Besse, MD, Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, Paris Sud University, discusses the combination of dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist) for patients with non—small cell lung cancer.

One percent of patients with NSCLC have the BRAF V600E mutation. This mutation is highly predictive of the combination of dabrafenib and trametinib. Both have been proven to be highly effective in pretreated patients with NSCLC with a response rate of 60% and a progression-free survival of 10 months.

It is a potent combination that has the potential to be the standard of care. These drugs alone are quite toxic but together the toxicity is much less, explains Besse.