Roche's Zelboraf May Double Survival for Some Melanoma Patients

The newly approved drug Zelboraf appears to nearly double the length of time a person can expect to live with advanced melanoma skin cancer, a new study shows. Melanoma kills about 9,000 Americans each year, and it often progresses quickly. Studies have found that the midpoint in survival time for patients on standard chemotherapy is just six to 10 months for patients with melanoma that has spread to other organs. Last year, the FDA fast-tracked approval for Zelboraf, a pill that targets a specific mutation in the BRAF gene that’s present in about half of all melanomas.