A video summary of the COLUMBUS 7 year update

In this video article, we present the 7-year update of the COLUMBUS study, which represents the longest follow-up reported to date on BRAF plus MEK inhibitors for the treatment of unresectable or metastatic BRAF V600E/K-mutant melanoma, with nearly 100 months of patient follow-up.

The COLUMBUS study is a randomized, open-label, phase III trial that evaluates the efficacy and safety of encorafenib plus binimetinib compared to vemurafenib or encorafenib monotherapy in patients with locally advanced, unresectable, or metastatic melanoma harboring the BRAF V600E/K mutation. This includes both treatment-naive patients and those who progressed after first-line immunotherapy.

Updated efficacy results demonstrate long-term, sustained benefits of this combination for patients with advanced BRAF V600E/K-mutant melanoma, with no new safety concerns emerging. The findings also provide insights into long-term responders.

The content of this animated video article is based on the authors’ manuscript titled “COLUMBUS 7-Year Update: A Randomized, Open-Label, Phase III Trial of Encorafenib Plus Binimetinib Versus Vemurafenib or Encorafenib in Patients with BRAF V600E/K-Mutant Melanoma,” published in the European Journal of Cancer.

Read the original article here, or visit the Columbus7 Dashboard for more information on the results.

Meet the author:

Dirk Schadendorf is the Director of the Department of Dermatology (since 2008) and the West German Cancer Center (since 2013) at the University Hospital Essen. He is also the Director of the WTZ Consortium and Founding Director of the Research Center One Health University Alliance Ruhr. 
In 1986, he obtained his medical license and completed post-doctoral training in Tumour Immunology at MSKCC in New York, where he began his experimental work on melanoma. After six years at University Hospital Rudolf Virchow, Berlin, he became Assistant Professor of Dermatology in 1994. Following his receipt of the prestigious DFG-Heisenberg Scholarship, he was appointed Associate Professor of Dermato-Oncology at Mannheim University Hospital, University of Heidelberg, and Head of the Skin Cancer Unit at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg in 1997. 

From 2010 to 2018, Professor Schadendorf served as President of the German Dermatologic Cooperative Oncology Group (DeCOG). He has also been a member of the steering committee of the well-known EORTC Melanoma Group for over two decades, holding several roles. He is currently involved in more than 30 clinical studies and has a strong focus on translational research. He has published more than 700 peer-reviewed papers (see Google Scholar and ORCID), with an H-index of 131. He has been recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics since 2017. 

Original article: 

Schadendorf D, Dummer R, Flaherty KT, et al. COLUMBUS 7-year update: A randomized, open-label, phase III trial of encorafenib plus binimetinib versus vemurafenib or encorafenib in patients with BRAF V600E/K-mutant melanoma. Eur J Cancer. 2024;204:114073. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2024.114073.