TAFINLAR and MEKINIST may cause serious side effects, including:
Risk of new cancers. TAFINLAR, when used in combination with MEKINIST, may cause a type of skin cancer called cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, keratoacanthoma, basal cell carcinoma, or melanoma. Talk with your health care provider about your risk for these cancers. Check your skin and tell your health care provider right away about any skin changes, including a new wart, skin sore, or reddish bump that bleeds or does not heal, or a change in size or color of a mole.
Your health care provider should check your skin before you start treatment, and every 2 months while on treatment, to look for any new skin cancers. Your health care provider should continue to check your skin for 6 months after you stop taking TAFINLAR and MEKINIST.
TAFINLAR and MEKINIST are prescription medicines that can be used in combination to treat people with a type of skin cancer called melanoma:
that has spread to other parts of the body (metastatic) or cannot be removed by surgery (unresectable), and
that has a certain type of abnormal “BRAF” (V600E or V600K mutation-positive) gene
TAFINLAR and MEKINIST are prescription medicines that can be used in combination to help prevent melanoma that has a certain type of abnormal “BRAF” gene from coming back after the cancer has been removed by surgery.