Any experience with targeted therapy for BRAF V600E mutated tumor(s)?

Posted by Tom Schwerdt @tomschwerdt, May 21, 2023

So, it seems a fair number of tumors are caused by a local mutation designated BRAF V600E. There are specific targeted therapies for cancers with this mutation which are FDA approved, usually dabrafenib combined with trametinib. I was wondering if anyone here had experienced this treatment approach or were aware of an oncologist comfortable with this approach.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V600E
- FDA grants accelerated approval to dabrafenib in combination with trametinib for unresectable or metastatic solid tumors with BRAF V600E mutation https://www.fda.gov/drugs/resources-information-approved-drugs/fda-grants-accelerated-approval-dabrafenib-combination-trametinib-unresectable-or-metastatic-solid

My own case is a bit more complicated since for some reason the medical community designates the tumor destroying my jawbone (mandibular ameloblastoma) as "not cancer". From the literature I've read, the majority (and likely the vast majority) of mandibular ameloblastoma cases have the BRAF V600E mutation.

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phillisi88 | @phillisi88 | May 5 10:21am

Update from yesterday: my surgeon, Dr. Mohammed Qaisi was very open to not just gene sequencing my sample, but moving forward with potential BRAF/MEK inhibitors. He wasn't very aware of that option as a neoadjuvant treatment, but said he thought a surgical oncologist friend of his at Rutgers may have been involved in an earlier clinical trial or some other research with them. Dr. Qaisi was not a fan of the pathology report from my biopsy as the author didn't specify a subtype, and my prior oral surgeon didn't send over imaging. Based on the CBCT we took yesterday, he's fairly confident my amelo is conventional, but it looked like it could be unicystic.

I've reached back out to my prior doc to have her reach back out to the lab to basically re-write the pathology report AND conduct next-gen sequencing on the sample. Follow up with Dr. Qaisi is June 1 but, for now, I'm breathing a big sigh of relief that he's in my corner.