Tafinlar/Mekinist Combo is Safe, Effective in Patients With Glioma

Tafinlar and Mekinist combo has efficacy among patients with gliomas: © Dr_Microbe - stock.adobe.com

Among patients with gliomas, treatment with Tafinlar (dabrafenib) in combination with Mekinist (trametinib) has demonstrated both safe and effective responses for both pediatric and adult patients, according to researchers.

Results from a systematic review and meta-analysis published in “Child’s Nervous System” showed that, in the findings from eight studies with 243 patients — 161 pediatric patients and 82 adults — the objective response rate was 53% for pediatric patients and 39% for adult patients, while the clinical benefit rates were 87% and 73%, respectively; however, there was no meaningful difference between the two, according to researchers .

Likewise, analysis showed that the pooled six-month progression-free survival rates — 80% for pediatric patients and 58% for adults — also had an insignificant difference.

Additionally, researchers demonstrated that there was an insignificant difference in the efficacy of the combination among pediatric and adult patients regarding complete response (pediatric, 12% versus adult, 8%), partial response (42% versus 36%), stable disease (34% versus 31%) and progressive disease (11% versus 30%), respectively.

“We exhibited that [Tafinlar] plus [Mekinist] was accompanied by considerable efficacy among pediatric and adult patients with glioma,” researchers wrote in their findings. “Despite generally higher clinical and radiological outcomes in pediatric patients, this superiority was insignificant compared [with] adults.”

Similarly, while the pooled side effect rates were 96% for pediatric patients and 83% for adult patients, this difference was not considered by researchers to be meaningful.

Researchers reported that younger age, presence of BRAF V600 mutations and longer periods of therapy were associated with better radiological outcomes among pediatric patients, while being female was associated with better radiological results among adult patients.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the combination of Tafinlar and Mekinist as a first-line therapy for low-grade gliomas with a BRAF V600E mutation among patients one year old and older in March 2023, marking the first FDA approval of a systemic therapy for children with this common pediatric brain cancer.

“This FDA approval may offer new hope to pediatric patients living with BRAF V600E low-grade glioma,” said Dr. Roger Packer, senior vice president of the Center for Neurosciences and Behavioral Medicine at Children’s National Hospital, in a press release issued at the time of the approval. “This has the potential to change the way health care providers treat these pediatric patients, offering a significant advancement compared to chemotherapy.”

Tafinlar, as explained by the National Cancer Institute, is a type of kinase inhibitor that blocks certain proteins made by the mutated BRAF gene, which may help cancer cells from growing. Similarly, the National Cancer Institute explained that Mekinist is a type of kinase inhibitor that blocks the proteins MEK1 and MEK2, which may help prevent cancer cells from growing.

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Reference

“Efficacy and safety of dabrafenib plus trametinib in pediatric versus adult gliomas: a systematic review and meta-analysis” by Dr. Bardia Hajikarimloo et al., Child’s Nervous System.