What the trial was testing
The COLUMBUS enrolled 921 patients with melanoma. The study was sponsored by Pfizer and tracked outcomes across the full group of patients who matched the trial's eligibility profile.
It was a large trial designed to confirm whether the treatment works well enough for wider use. Trials at this stage are designed to produce evidence regulators and physicians can act on — not just observations to follow up later.
What the results showed
Roughly twice as long without progression — 14.9 vs. 7.3 months.
The Lancet Oncology · 2018 · NCT01909453
These findings — that time without progression on encorafenib + binimetinib vs. vemurafenib in BRAF-mutant melanoma — were published in the The Lancet Oncology and represent the headline result of the study.
Researchers tracked outcomes across 921 patients enrolled in the trial. The result was consistent enough across the group that the team felt confident reporting it.
What this means for patients
For patients with melanoma, this result changes the calculus on what to ask their care team about. Whether it changes day-to-day care depends on factors like disease subtype, prior treatments, and where the patient is in their care journey.
What you can do now
Encorafenib (Braftovi) plus binimetinib (Mektovi) is FDA-approved and available now for BRAF-mutant advanced melanoma. The combination has fewer skin and joint side effects than older BRAF/MEK pairs. Ask a melanoma oncologist about BRAF testing and whether this combination fits.
Eligibility for the treatments mentioned above depends on specific test results and clinical history. Bring this summary, the trial name, and your most recent labs or pathology report to your next visit.
Open melanoma trials
Safety and Efficacy of EIK1001 in Combo With Pembro Versus Placebo and Pembro as First-Line Therapy in Patients With Advanced Melanoma.
The study is for patients with advanced melanoma who are eligible for standard therapy with Pembrolizumab.
Effects of Anti-PD1 Adjuvant Checkpoint Blockade Immunotherapy on Atypical/Dysplastic Nevi
This study will examine the impact of anti-programmed cell death 1 (PD1) therapy given in the approved adjuvant therapeutic regimens upon the morphologic, histopathologic, molecular and immunologic as well as genomic features of atypical/dysplastic nevi (A/DN) in patients with a prior documented melanoma of Stages IIB, IIC, IIIA, IIIB, or IIIC and concurrent presence of two or more atypical nevi.