Patients who suffer from melanoma and doctors who treat melanoma patients now can now have a strong hope of treatment and recovery since the US Food and Drug Administration has approved the Vemurafenib drug. This drug is a BRAF Inhibitor. Melanoma, which is known to be the most aggressive forms of skin cancers, is also one of the cancers that register high mortality rates. In more than half the number of melanoma cases, BRAF protein activity is known to be the major cause of the aggression. The BRAF protein can be effectively controlled by the use of this drug. With the approval, it is expected that the treatment of melanoma will be more effective than before. Vermurafenib is a personalized investigational medicine.

The medical fraternity has received this news with a lot of enthusiasm. The director of Donald A. Adam Comprehensive Melanoma Research Center at Moffitt, Dr. Jeffrey Weber said that this is a drug that will revolutionize the treatment method of Melanoma. The best part of the drug is that it is personalized and administered based on personalized testing methods. Dr. Weber played a major role in the trial project that tested the effectiveness of BRIM2. The test involved one hundred and thirty two patients. The effect of vemurafenib on tumors was studied in the test and it was found that administration of the drug significantly reduced the size of the malignant tumor by controlling the activity of protein BRAF. Another very important result that was observed in the study was that the drug controlled the aggression of the tumor. During the following six months, it was found that the size of the tumor had not increased and the cancer has not progressed to an advanced stage.

While the drug is very effective in controlling the aggression and progress of melanoma, its side effects are not negligible. The most serious side effects that the drug can cause are rapid fluctuation in heart beat, severe allergic reactions which is personal to the patient and liver problems. Other adverse effects that can be caused are increased sensitivity to sun, fatigue, pain in the joints and severe hair loss. However, the effectiveness of the drug in treating the dreadful cancer is the reason why the drug has been granted permission to be used by the law body. While the drug does not cure cancer, it does effectively control its spread and aggression. Doctors are gals that they finally have access to a personalized drug that can prolong the life of patients suffering from the most aggressive cancer.