An advanced pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma patient harboring a BRAF(V600E) mutation responds to dabrafenib and trametinib: a case report and literature review

BACKGROUND: The pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma (PSC) is a rare and aggressive subtype of NSCLC with rapid progression and poor prognosis, and is resistant to conventional chemotherapy. Most PSC cases have potential targetable genomic alterations. Approximately 7% of PSC patients have BRAF mutations, and the efficacy of dabrafenib and trametinib in BRAF(V600E) mutated PSC is unclear. CASE PRESENTATION: Our report describes a patient with mutated BRAF(V600E) PSC who underwent surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy early but quickly relapsed. Both chemotherapy and immunotherapy were ineffective for him, combined dabrafenib and trametinib produced a 6-month progression-free survival, and a partial response was observed in the tumor response evaluation. As a result of financial pressure, he stopped taking the targeted drugs, and his disease rapidly progressed. CONCLUSION: Dabrafenib combined with trametinib provides partial remission in patients with advanced PSC with BRAF(V600E) mutations, and large-scale NGS panels could offer more options for PSC treatment.