This is for patients in a *much* more advanced stage than myself. But is good news in general. From the BBC:
PLX4032 works by seeking out and destroying tumour cells carrying the BRAF mutation implicated in 60% malignant melanomas.
This could not only help to shrink the skin cancer, but also delay its spread.
Currently, only a small proportion of people – less than 5% – live more than two years if their cancer has spread around the body.
Early findings
In a phase I study involving 16 patients with BRAF-positive melanoma, over half saw the extent of their cancer reduce by at least 30%.
Patients treated with PLX4032 lived for a median of six months without their disease getting worse and more than half experienced significant shrinkage of their tumours.
This included patients where the cancer had spread to the liver, lung and bone.
