TY - JOUR
T1 - Clinical responses to vemurafenib in patients with metastatic papillary thyroid cancer harboring BRAFV600E mutation
AU - Kim, Kevin B.
AU - Cabanillas, Maria E.
AU - Lazar, Alexander J.
AU - Williams, Michelle D.
AU - Sanders, Deborah L.
AU - Ilagan, Joseph L.
AU - Nolop, Keith
AU - Lee, Richard J.
AU - Sherman, Steven I.
PY - 2013/10/1
Y1 - 2013/10/1
N2 - Background: Clinical benefit from cytotoxic chemotherapy for metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is disappointing, and effective therapeutic approaches for these patients are urgently needed. Because kinase-activating mutations in the BRAF proto-oncogene commonly occur in advanced PTC, and inhibition of BRAFV600E has shown promising clinical activity in melanoma, BRAF inhibitor therapy may be an effective strategy to treat metastatic PTC. Methods: The dose escalation portion of a first-in-human, phase I study of vemurafenib, a selective RAF inhibitor, included three patients with metastatic PTC harboring the BRAFV600E mutation. Vemurafenib was initially dosed at 240-360 mg twice a day, later escalated to 720 mg twice a day. Response evaluation was performed every 8 weeks per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST). Results: Among the three patients, one had a confirmed partial response with reduction of pulmonary target lesions by 31%, and the duration of response was 7.6 months before the disease progressed in the lungs and the bones. The time to progression was 11.7 months. The other two patients had stable disease, and the time to progression was 13.2 and 11.4 months, respectively. Conclusions: Vemurafenib appears to have a promising clinical activity in patients with metastatic PTC, and our data suggest that the BRAFV600E mutant kinase is a relevant target for therapy in this patient population. Further investigation of inhibitors of mutated BRAF kinase in patients with PTC in a phase II study is warranted.
AB - Background: Clinical benefit from cytotoxic chemotherapy for metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is disappointing, and effective therapeutic approaches for these patients are urgently needed. Because kinase-activating mutations in the BRAF proto-oncogene commonly occur in advanced PTC, and inhibition of BRAFV600E has shown promising clinical activity in melanoma, BRAF inhibitor therapy may be an effective strategy to treat metastatic PTC. Methods: The dose escalation portion of a first-in-human, phase I study of vemurafenib, a selective RAF inhibitor, included three patients with metastatic PTC harboring the BRAFV600E mutation. Vemurafenib was initially dosed at 240-360 mg twice a day, later escalated to 720 mg twice a day. Response evaluation was performed every 8 weeks per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST). Results: Among the three patients, one had a confirmed partial response with reduction of pulmonary target lesions by 31%, and the duration of response was 7.6 months before the disease progressed in the lungs and the bones. The time to progression was 11.7 months. The other two patients had stable disease, and the time to progression was 13.2 and 11.4 months, respectively. Conclusions: Vemurafenib appears to have a promising clinical activity in patients with metastatic PTC, and our data suggest that the BRAFV600E mutant kinase is a relevant target for therapy in this patient population. Further investigation of inhibitors of mutated BRAF kinase in patients with PTC in a phase II study is warranted.
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U2 - 10.1089/thy.2013.0057
DO - 10.1089/thy.2013.0057
M3 - Article
C2 - 23489023
AN - SCOPUS:84879177690
SN - 1050-7256
VL - 23
SP - 1277
EP - 1283
JO - Thyroid
JF - Thyroid
IS - 10
ER -