Understanding drug resistance of targeted BRAF inhibitors in late-stage melanoma

晚期黑色素瘤是一种侵袭性皮肤癌，传统的治疗策略，如化疗是无效的。最近，一类新的靶向药物（BRAF抑制剂）已经成为一部分黑色素瘤患者的标准治疗方法；然而，长期治疗的成功由于耐药性而变得复杂。这项研究将确定耐药性的原因，目的是改善靶向药物策略，提高晚期黑色素瘤患者的生存率。

Late-stage melanoma is an aggressive skin cancer for which traditional treatment strategies such as chemotherapy are ineffective. Recently, a new class of targeted drugs (BRAF inhibitors) has become the standard of care for a subset of melanoma patients; however, long term treatment success is complicated by drug resistance. This study will identify the causes of resistance with the purpose to improve targeted drug strategies and increase survival rates for late-stage melanoma patients.