A look back at MEK drugs for NF1 high-grade glioma
Original title: MEK inhibitors in NF1-associated high-grade glioma: partial responses and outcomes from a single-institution cohort and literature review.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
Doctors only looked back at a few patients who had taken these drugs, not a planned trial.
The short version
Doctors reviewed nine adults with NF1 and a fast-growing brain tumor who took MEK blocker drugs.
What was studied. Doctors at one cancer center looked back at the records of nine adults with NF1 and a high-grade glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells. Those are the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are given a grade from 1 to 4. The grade says how the tumor is expected to act. See the glossary. Each one had started selumetinib, mirdametinib, or dabrafenib plus trametinib.
What they found. Three patients took mirdametinib, and in two of them the tumor shrank. For the other patients who could be measured, the best result was a tumor that stopped growing. Tumors grew again after about 2.9 months, and patients lived about 9.4 months after starting the drug.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: A MEK drug may shrink this kind of tumor in some people. In this small group, the help did not last long. Your own doctor can say if one of these drugs fits your case.
What it doesn't mean: This does not show that MEK drugs work for this tumor. It was a look back at charts from only nine patients at one center. It was not a planned trial, the benefit was short, and this is not a cure. Bigger studies are needed before this becomes normal care.
Source: PubMed, October 22, 2026 · Read the original
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