Vemurafenib in pediatric patients with BRAFV600E mutated high-grade gliomas

Abstract

We present three pediatric patients with BRAFV600E mutant high-grade gliomas treated by vemurafenib on a nominative authorization level at our institution. One patient with anaplastic ganglioglioma experienced confirmed partial tumor response and significant clinical improvement and she is alive 20 months after start of treatment. A second patient with ganglioglioma responded transiently to re-introduction of vemurafenib after immunotherapy. Pharmacokinetic studies suggest that maximum concentration and exposure of vemurafenib at steady-state is dose-dependent and similar in children to that reported in adults. These cases suggest that BRAFV600 is an oncogenic driver in pediatric gliomas. Further exploration in clinical studies is ongoing.

Keywords: BRAF mutations; anaplastic ganglioglioma; pediatric brain tumors; pharmacokinetics; vemurafenib.