Glaxo melanoma drug combo shows promise in small trial

(Reuters) – Two drugs being developed by GlaxoSmithKline Plc – each designed to block different pathways used by cancer cells – have been shown in a small clinical trial to curb melanoma with fewer side effects than current therapies. The experimental drugs are dabrafenib, designed to work in patients with a mutation of a gene known as BRAF, and trametinib, which interferes with a protein known as MEK. The drug combination was tested in patients with advanced melanoma and a mutation in the BRAF gene. About half of all melanomas – the deadliest form of skin cancer – have the genetic aberration. …