A Phase 1/2 interventional study of Dabrafenib and Trametinib in Low Grade Glioma (LGG) of Brain With BRAF Aberration, High Grade Glioma (HGG) of the Brain With BRAF Aberration and Low Grade Glioma of Brain With Neurofibromatosis Type 1, sponsored by Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium. Active, not recruiting at 15 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 1 Year to 30 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-11.
Sponsored by Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium · Phase 1/2, Interventional, and Treatment
This phase I/II trial is designed to study the side effects, best dose and efficacy of adding hydroxychloroquine to dabrafenib and/or trametinib in children with low grade or high grade brain tumors previously treated with similar drugs that did not respond completely (progressive) or tumors that came back while receiving a similar agent (recurrent). Patients must also have specific genetic mutations including BRAF V600 mutations or BRAF fusion/duplication, with or without neurofibromatosis type 1. Neurofibromatosis type 1 is an inherited genetic condition that causes tumors to grow on nerve tissue. Hydroxychloroquine, works in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells by killing the cells or stopping them from dividing. Trametinib and dabrafenib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Giving hydroxychloroquine with trametinib and/or dabrafenib may lower the chance of brain tumors growing or spreading compared to usual treatments.
In this phase I/II study, the investigators will investigate the safety and efficacy of dabrafenib + trametinib + HCQ (D+T+HCQ) and trametinib + HCQ (T+HCQ) in pediatric and young adult patients with BRAF-altered or NF1-associated gliomas who have previously received a RAF and/or MEK inhibitor. The goal of this study is to optimize the clinical effect of dabrafenib and trametinib by addressing intrinsic and acquired resistance that is well-described in V600E-mutant melanoma and for which there is preclinical and clinical evidence in pediatric gliomas. Aside from overlapping skin toxicity of dabrafenib and trametinib, which preliminarily does not appear worse in the D+T combination in adults and children, potential for ocular toxicity, which has been observed with each agent as monotherapy, will require close monitoring. An important outcome of this study will be improved understanding of resistance mechanisms and the role of autophagy in BRAF-altered or NF1-associated gliomas through sequencing of pre- and post-RAFi or MEKi tumor (when available) and measurement of autophagy inhibition in throughout protocol therapy.
Phase I:
The primary objective of the Phase I component is to estimate the maximum tolerated doses (MTD) and recommended Phase II doses (RP2D) of D+T+HCQ and T+HCQ in children and young adults with recurrent or progressive glioma treated with prior RAF and/or MEK inhibitor therapy.
Patients with BRAF V600E LGG or HGG will receive the combination of D+T+HCQ given orally in the form of capsules which must be taken whole, or an oral solution made from tablets. Hydroxychloroquine will only be administered by oral suspension. Within each combination, Dabrafenib and Hydroxychloroquine will be administered twice a day in a 28-day course. Trametinib will be administered once a day for 28 days during each course. One course is equivalent to 28 days. Therapy with either combination may continue for up to 2 years (26 courses) in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
Phase II Potential patients for the Phase II portion of the trial must provide magnetic resonance imaging studies for central review for screening prior to enrollment: (1) prior targeted MEK/RAF therapy baseline, (2) prior MEK/RAF therapy best response, (3) scan at off treatment, and if different from off treatment (4) scan documenting PD associated with prior MEK/RAF targeted therapy. Additional scans may be requested from the site if the required eligibility assessments cannot be completed based on these minimal imaging requirements.
In the Phase II portion of the trial, patients will continue to receive either the D +T+HCQ or T+HCQ combination at the RP2D defined in the Phase I portion. All drugs will be given continuously without a break unless required for excess toxicity. For Phase I subjects who are treated at the MTD a similar review will take place retrospectively to determine whether the patients meet the criteria to be included in the Phase II cohort.
1,452 studies on the registry are indexed under Glioma; 349 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 57 is above the median of 32 across 1,075 interventional studies indexed under Glioma.
Browse Glioma studies →Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium is the lead sponsor of 31 studies on the registry; none are open to participants now.
Of its 5 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 5 (100%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Patients must have one of the following histologies with molecularly-confirmed diagnosis that is recurrent or progressive. Patients enrolled will be stratified as follows:
Phase I:
Phase II:
BRAF alterations will be locally determined using molecular methods in a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act (CLIA)-certified laboratory. Immunohistochemistry for BRAF V600E alone is not adequate and must be confirmed molecularly
Phase I only
Patients enrolled on the 20 mg/kg/day (dose level 3) must have a weight \< 68 kg
Patients must have received prior RAF and/or MEK inhibitor therapy and meet one of the following criteria:
HGG patients on Phase I: may be enrolled regardless of prior MEK /RAF treatment
Patients with LGG on the Phase I study will not require real-time central imaging review, but imaging must be available for retrospective review in case the subject was enrolled at the RP2D and may be counted as part of the phase II study
Craniospinal irradiation, whole brain radiation, total body irradiation or radiation to >= 50% of pelvis or spine >= 6 weeks (42 days) prior to enrollment
** Focal irradiation >= 14 days prior to enrollment
Patients who are unable to walk because of neurologic deficits, but who are up in a wheelchair, will be considered ambulatory for assessing the performance score
Age: >= 16 years; maximum serum creatinine (mg/dL): 1.7 (male); 1.4 (female)
Exclusion Criteria:
Breast-feeding women are excluded from this study due to risks of fetal and teratogenic adverse events as seen in animal/human studies
Patients with any unrelated systemic illness (serious infections or significant cardiac, pulmonary, hepatic or other organ dysfunction), that in the opinion of the investigator would compromise the patient's ability to tolerate protocol therapy, put them at additional risk for toxicity or would interfere with the study procedures or results:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
The amount of disease can be tracked with a defined measurement, so the study can see whether it shrinks or grows. It might be a tumour measured on a scan or, in some blood cancers such as myeloma, a marker measured in blood or urine.
The criteria or the study team say which measurement counts — having no tumour visible on a scan does not by itself rule you out.
A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.
It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.
A 0–100 scale of how well someone can carry out everyday activities. 100 is no complaints and no signs of illness; 70 is able to look after yourself but not to work or keep up normal activity; 50 is needing considerable help and frequent medical care.
Studies often ask for 60 or 70 and above. Your doctor gives the score.
The number of neutrophils, white blood cells that help fight infection, in a given amount of blood. Too few raises the risk of infection.
It is a count, not a percentage of the white cells. Limits are written in units that mean the same: ≥ 1.5 × 10⁹/L is ≥ 1,500 per mm³ (µL). Each lab has its own reference range.
Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.
The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A low level is anaemia, which can cause tiredness and breathlessness. Measured in g/dL or g/L (9 g/dL is 90 g/L).
A yellow substance made when red blood cells are broken down, which the liver clears. A high level can mean a problem with the liver or the bile ducts.
Criteria often allow more for people with Gilbert’s syndrome, a harmless inherited condition that raises bilirubin.
The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.
“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.
Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.
Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.
How quickly the kidneys clear creatinine, a waste product, from the blood. A study may estimate it from a blood test with age, weight and sex (often by the Cockcroft–Gault formula), or measure it using blood and urine collected over a set time. Given in mL/min; higher is better.
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
The share of blood the heart’s main pumping chamber (the left ventricle) pushes out with each beat, measured by an echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) or a MUGA scan. About 50–70% is normal.
On an ECG, the QT interval is the time the heart’s lower chambers take to activate electrically and recover in each beat. QTc is that time adjusted for heart rate (QTcF by Fridericia’s formula, QTcB by Bazett’s). Some medicines lengthen it, and a long QTc can raise the risk of a dangerous heart rhythm.
The study may name a correction formula and a limit in milliseconds, often around 450–480.
Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).
Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Judged by the study doctor to matter for your health or for the study. It is a doctor’s decision, so ask the study team if you are unsure whether something counts.
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.
The other ingredients in a medicine besides the active drug, such as fillers, colours or preservatives.
Measurable disease
The amount of disease can be tracked with a defined measurement, so the study can see whether it shrinks or grows. It might be a tumour measured on a scan or, in some blood cancers such as myeloma, a marker measured in blood or urine.
The criteria or the study team say which measurement counts — having no tumour visible on a scan does not by itself rule you out.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Investigational drug or device
A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.
It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Karnofsky performance status (KPS)
A 0–100 scale of how well someone can carry out everyday activities. 100 is no complaints and no signs of illness; 70 is able to look after yourself but not to work or keep up normal activity; 50 is needing considerable help and frequent medical care.
Studies often ask for 60 or 70 and above. Your doctor gives the score.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Absolute neutrophil count (ANC)
The number of neutrophils, white blood cells that help fight infection, in a given amount of blood. Too few raises the risk of infection.
It is a count, not a percentage of the white cells. Limits are written in units that mean the same: ≥ 1.5 × 10⁹/L is ≥ 1,500 per mm³ (µL). Each lab has its own reference range.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Platelets
Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Hemoglobin (Hb)
The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A low level is anaemia, which can cause tiredness and breathlessness. Measured in g/dL or g/L (9 g/dL is 90 g/L).
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Bilirubin
A yellow substance made when red blood cells are broken down, which the liver clears. A high level can mean a problem with the liver or the bile ducts.
Criteria often allow more for people with Gilbert’s syndrome, a harmless inherited condition that raises bilirubin.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
ULN (upper limit of normal)
The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.
“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
ALT and AST (liver enzymes)
Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.
Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Creatinine clearance (CrCl)
How quickly the kidneys clear creatinine, a waste product, from the blood. A study may estimate it from a blood test with age, weight and sex (often by the Cockcroft–Gault formula), or measure it using blood and urine collected over a set time. Given in mL/min; higher is better.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
GFR and eGFR (kidney filtering)
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
LVEF (left ventricular ejection fraction)
The share of blood the heart’s main pumping chamber (the left ventricle) pushes out with each beat, measured by an echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) or a MUGA scan. About 50–70% is normal.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
QT and QTc
On an ECG, the QT interval is the time the heart’s lower chambers take to activate electrically and recover in each beat. QTc is that time adjusted for heart rate (QTcF by Fridericia’s formula, QTcB by Bazett’s). Some medicines lengthen it, and a long QTc can raise the risk of a dangerous heart rhythm.
The study may name a correction formula and a limit in milliseconds, often around 450–480.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Childbearing potential
Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).
Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraception
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Clinically significant
Judged by the study doctor to matter for your health or for the study. It is a doctor’s decision, so ask the study team if you are unsure whether something counts.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Cancer (malignancy)
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Hypersensitivity
An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Excipients
The other ingredients in a medicine besides the active drug, such as fillers, colours or preservatives.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
LGG or HGG with BRAF V600E/D/K mutation will receive Dabrafenib, Trametinib and Hydroxychloroquine. All medications are administered orally with Dabrafenib and HCQ given twice a day and Trametinib given once per day at the assigned dose for a 28 day course. Courses may repeat until the patient meets an off treatment criteria.
Drug: Dabrafenib · Drug: Trametinib · Drug: Hydroxychloroquine
LGG with BRAF duplication or fusion with any partner or LGG with NF1 will received Trametinib and Hydroxychloroquine. All medications are administered orally with Trametinib given once per day and HCQ give twice per day at the assigned dose for a 28 day course. Courses may repeat until the patient meets an off treatment criteria.
Drug: Trametinib · Drug: Hydroxychloroquine
LGG with BRAF V600E/D/K mutation will receive Dabrafenib, Trametinib and Hydroxychloroquine. All medications are administered orally with Dabrafenib and HCQ given twice a day and Trametinib given once per day at the recommended Phase 2 dose for a 28 day course. Courses may repeat until the patient meets an off treatment criteria.
Drug: Dabrafenib · Drug: Trametinib · Drug: Hydroxychloroquine
HGG with BRAF V600E/D/K mutation will receive Dabrafenib, Trametinib and Hydroxychloroquine. All medications are administered orally with Dabrafenib and HCQ given twice a day and Trametinib given once per day at the recommended Phase 2 dose for a 28 day course. Courses may repeat until the patient meets an off treatment criteria
Drug: Dabrafenib · Drug: Trametinib · Drug: Hydroxychloroquine
LGG with BRAF duplication or fusion with any partner will receive Trametinib and Hydroxychloroquine. All medications are administered orally with Trametinib given once per day and HCQ give twice per day at the recommended Phase 2 dose for a 28 day course. Courses may repeat until the patient meets an off treatment criteria.
Drug: Trametinib · Drug: Hydroxychloroquine
LGG with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 will receive Trametinib and Hydroxychloroquine. All medications are administered orally with Trametinib given once per day and HCQ give twice per day at the recommended Phase 2 dose for a 28 day course. Courses may repeat until the patient meets an off treatment criteria.
Drug: Trametinib · Drug: Hydroxychloroquine
Dabrafenib capsule; Dabrafenib Dispersible Tablet
Also known as: Dabrafenib mesylate, Tafinlar
Tablet; Powder for Oral Solution
Also known as: Trametinib dimethyl sulfoxide, Mekinist
Tablet
Also known as: Plaquenil, Plaquinol, Toremonil, Ercoquinn
Maximum Tolerated Dose (MTD)/ Recommended Phase 2 Dose (RP2D)
Testing the safety/tolerability of adding HCQ to Dabrafenib + Trametinib or to Trametinib
Time frame: Approximately 28 days from start of therapy
Maximum Plasma Concentration
Maximum plasma concentration Dabrafenib+Trametinib+Hydroxychloroquine or Trametinib +Hydroxychloroquine
Time frame: 1-4 days
Area under the curve (AUC)
AUC for Dabrafenib+Trametinib+Hydroxychloroquine or Trametinib +Hydroxychloroquine
Time frame: 1-4 days
Phase II: Sustained objective response rate.
Number of patients who meet the "better response" criteria, which is a comparison of response on this current protocol therapy versus their best response to previous RAF and/or MEK inhibitor therapy
Time frame: Up to approximately 2 years from the start of therapy
Phase I: Dose limiting toxicities of D + T HCQ or T + HCQ
Describe the dose limiting toxicities separately for each stratum
Time frame: course 1 of therapy, approximately 28 days from start of therapy
Phase I: Response Rate
Proportion of patients who achieve either a partial or a complete response among those with measureable disease at enrollment.
Time frame: Up to approximately 2 years from start of therapy
Phase II: Progression-free survival
Time from enrollment up to disease progression or death or loss to follow-up, whichever is first
Time frame: Start of protocol therapy until progression or last follow-up, up to approximately 2 years from start of treatment
Phase II: Visual outcome based on Teller Grating Acuity at 55 cm in the left eye in children with tumor involving the visual pathway
Teller Grating Acuity at 55 cm in the left eye in children with tumor involving the visual pathway
Time frame: Throughout study therapy, up to approximately 2 years from start of therapy
Phase I and II: Autophagy inhibition as assessed by the accumulation of LC3II in peripheral blood mononuclear cells
Accumulation of LC3II in peripheral blood mononuclear cells
Time frame: Approximately 2 years from start of therapy]
Phase I and II: Autophagy inhibition as assessed by the accumulation of p62 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells
Accumulation of p62 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells
Time frame: Approximately 2 years from start of therapy
Phase I and II: Presence of MAPK pathway aberrations (other than BRAF) as assessed by whole exome sequencing
MAPK pathway aberrations (other than BRAF) assessed by whole exome sequencing
Time frame: At time of study enrollment
Phase I and II: biomarker of resistance to RAF or MEK inhibitor therapy by evaluating matched primary and recurrent/progressive in tumor in plasma (and CSF if clinically indicated)
Evaluating matched primary and recurrent/progressive in tumor in plasma (and CSF if clinically indicated)
Time frame: At enrollment and at the time of every MRI study up to approximately 2 years from the start of therapy
PDFs hosted by the registry, ClinicalTrials.gov.
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Studies of the drugs tested here: Trametinib · Hydroxychloroquine
Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium