These days BRAF testing should be routinely done…esp on metastatic melanoma…no matter if it is in distant lesions or in sentinel nodes…if they are positive for melanoma. Whoever has the biopsy report on your nodes should know your BRAF status. If it has NOT been done, it SHOULD be done on the material found in either your positive nodes or in the initial lesion. They should still have some of your bits and pieces at the lab and can run it, if it has not been done already. Your oncologist can check on all of the above and order it done if it has not been.
Targeted therapy is the term used for BRAF inhibitors. Targeted therapy works only if you are BRAF positive, which about half of melanoma patients are. Additionally, we have learned that patients on targeted therapy have fewer side effects, as well as better and longer lasting responses when a BRAF inhibitor is combined with a MEK inhibitor and dosing is "intermittent"…meaning not a routine schedule like 3 pills a day, everyday…it is prescribed in a more random manner. There are currently several different BRAF and MEK inhibitors available. Here is a post I put together a while back that might be helpful:
http://chaoticallypreciselifeloveandmelanoma.blogspot.com/2014/02/braf-inhibitors-for-melanoma-dabrafenib.html
There is also a section on targeted therapy in this post: http://chaoticallypreciselifeloveandmelanoma.blogspot.com/2017/08/melanoma-intel-primer-for-current.html
Hope that helps. I wish you all my best. Celeste
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