# Dabrafenib and trametinib in BRAF V600E-mutant anaplastic thyroid cancer (ROAR)

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-subbiah-dabrafenib-trametinib-atc-jco-2018/  
OnCo record `paper-subbiah-dabrafenib-trametinib-atc-jco-2018` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

In one of the most lethal cancers known, dabrafenib plus trametinib shrank BRAF-mutant anaplastic thyroid cancer in about two thirds of patients, leading to the first ever drug approval for the disease.

## Summary

Anaplastic thyroid cancer cohort of the phase 2 ROAR basket trial: 16 patients with BRAF V600E-mutant locally advanced or metastatic anaplastic thyroid cancer treated with dabrafenib plus trametinib.

Objective response was 69 percent with responses lasting more than a year in most, twelve-month overall survival of about 80 percent in an updated analysis, and manageable toxicity; the approval followed in 2018.

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-09-17
- Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology
- Year: 2018
- DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2017.73.6785
- Authors: Subbiah V, Kreitman RJ, Wainberg ZA, et al.
- Findings: Objective response 69 percent (11 of 16).; Median duration of response and survival substantially exceeding historical months.
- What it means: Rapid BRAF testing is mandatory at diagnosis of anaplastic thyroid cancer, and BRAF-MEK inhibition, increasingly with pembrolizumab and as neoadjuvant therapy, is the standard for BRAF-mutant disease.
- Caveats: Very small cohort; only about 40 percent of anaplastic thyroid cancers carry BRAF V600E.

## Sources

- J Clin Oncol 2018: https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2017.73.6785
- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29072975/

## Connected records

- cancers: [Anaplastic thyroid cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/anaplastic-thyroid-cancer/)
- drugs: [Dabrafenib](https://onco.cc/drugs/dabrafenib/), [Trametinib](https://onco.cc/drugs/trametinib/)
- journals: [Journal of Clinical Oncology](https://onco.cc/journals/jco/)

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