Real-world treatment patterns and overall survival in BRAF-mutant melanoma patients treated with immunotherapy or targeted therapy

Aim: To assess overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced BRAF-mutant melanoma by first-line (1 L) targeted therapy (TT) or checkpoint inhibitor (CPI) use, second-line (2L) TT or CPI use, and treatment sequence. Patients & methods: Advanced BRAF-mutant melanoma patients treated with 1L CPI or TT were selected from a real-world, electronic health record-derived database. Results: CPI was associated with improved survival after adjustment for potential confounders (hazard ratio, 0.75 [95% CI, 0.66-0.87]). Median OS was similar between 2L therapies and among likely treatment sequences. Conclusion: This real-world study demonstrated a survival benefit with 1L CPI versus TT. Analyses of 2L and treatment sequences were unable to detect or rule out clinically relevant differences in OS. Plain language summary: Immune checkpoint inhibitors and targeted therapies are the preferred treatment options for patients with advanced BRAF-mutant melanoma, with more patients starting first-line treatment with checkpoint inhibitors in the real world. Our study suggests that starting treatment with checkpoint inhibitors instead of targeted therapies may improve survival; however, we were unable to determine the optimal sequence of treatments that patients should be given. The findings of this study highlight the need for further investigation into the optimal treatment sequence with checkpoint inhibitors and targeted therapies in advanced BRAF-mutant melanoma.