The evidence for dabrafenib plus trametinib
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended the NHS offer dabrafenib plus trametinib to treat glioma after evaluating at the results of the TADPOLE-G trial.
TADPOLE-G showed that the new drug combination stops low-grade gliomas with a BRAF V600E mutation from growing or causing new problems for an average of two years – more than three times as long as current chemotherapy options. It also supports a better quality of life.
“I’m able to just take tablets twice a day and go to the hospital every few months, rather than be in hospital to have chemotherapy,” said Aaliyah, 12, who took part in TADPOLE-G through Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. “I’ve been able to start secondary school with my friends and go to pretty much all my lessons.”
Patient experts told the NICE evaluation committee that chemotherapy can feel very different. They stressed that its difficult and isolating side effects can have a lasting emotional impact, or even lead to people with glioma and their caregivers choosing to stop treatment.
“I do feel proud that I’ve been part of a trial that has helped other people, and I am thankful to the team who have supported me,” Aaliyah added. “I’m really pleased that other teenagers and children will now be able to have the tablets instead of chemotherapy, without needing to be part of a trial. That’s a pretty big thing to have been part of and will make a real difference.”
Speaking to The Brain Tumour Charity, Aaliyah’s mum Amie remembered the day, three months into the trial, of her daughter’s first MRI since starting the new treatment.
“That was the first time I felt able to look at the scans,” she said. “When I saw the before and after […] a massive weight was lifted off my shoulders. I didn’t expect it to shrink that much. I knew we’d made the right decision.”
