Melanoma is a heterogeneous skin tumor, characterized by mutations of different oncogenes. Almost half of patients with advanced melanoma have a gene mutation of BRAF serine-threonine kinase. Over the past 5 years, two BRAF inhibitors targeting these mutations, vemurafenib and dabrafenib, have shown high rates of rapid response in phase II and III studies. However, the duration of responses is limited in most patients due to the development of acquired resistance. Mechanisms of resistance to BRAF inhibitor therapy are diverse and include the reactivation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway in over two-thirds of tumors, along with promotion of parallel signaling networks.~Recently, the combination of drugs was superior in terms of responses, Progression Free Survival (PFS) and Overall Survival (OS) compared to monotherapy.~The data from recent studies confirm the clinical benefit of the combination of Vemurafenib with cobimetinib and support the use of the combination as a standard first-line approach to improve survival in patients.~The aim of this randomized, open-label, phase II study is to evaluate the efficacy, in terms of overall survival, of vemurafenib combined with cobimetinib associated with local treatment compared with second-line therapy, in patients with BRAFV600 mutation-positive metastatic melanoma in focal progression with first-line combined vemurafenib and cobimetinib.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy beyond progression of vemurafenib combined with cobimetinib associated with local treatment compared to second-line treatment in patients with BRAFV600 mutation-positive metastatic melanoma in focal progression with first-line combined vemurafenib and cobimetinib.