Quiz: How COLUMBUS Study Results Impact Skin Cancer Treatment

Question 1

Answer

C.55,500

Around the world an estimated 55,500 people die of skin cancer annually. Incidence and mortality vary significantly between and within regions and countries, reflecting differences in risk factor exposures, local cancer screening, and cancer care services.

Question 2

Answer

D.All of the above

Normal lactate dehydrogenase concentrations, metastasis involving fewer than three sites, and good ECOG performance are all associated with favorable patient prognosis.

Question 3

Answer

D.All of the above

While the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved encorafenib plus binimetinib, vemurafenib plus cobimetinib and dabrafenib plus trametinib, no head-to-head comparison studies have been done to clarify the relative efficacy and safety profiles of these regimens.

Question 4

Answer

C.33.6 months

The small-molecule BRAF kinase inhibitor encorafenib plus the selective MEK inhibitor binimetinib were tolerable and yielded a median overall survival time of 33.6 months for patients with BRAF-V600E and BRAF-V600K mutation-harboring skin cancer.

Question 5

Answer

A.Elevated gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT)

In the COLUMBUS study, adverse events among patients receiving encorafenib plus binimetinib included elevated GGT (9% of patients), increased blood creatine phosphokinase (7%) and hypertension (6%).