“The development of nonmelanoma skin cancers secondary to RAF inhibitor treatment has been recognized since 2005, having been seen initially with sorafenib (Nexavar),” noted Mario E. Lacouture, MD, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Commenting on recently published studies in this setting, he told The ASCO Post, “Our understanding of these events has been improved by our experience with vemurafenib (Zelboraf). We hope that this improved understanding will minimize the impact these lesions have on dose intensity of RAF inhibitor therapies in advanced melanoma, since most of them are cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas or keratoacanthomas that lack an aggressive behavior. That being said, these observations may hamper the development of RAF inhibitors for use in earlier cancer until the full implications of the potential effects on tumor growth at other sites are understood.” ■

Disclosure: Dr. Lacouture has served as a consultant to Roche, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer, and Onyx Pharmaceuticals.