dabrafenib and trametinib side effects

Hi BB18

My partner was on Dab and Tram, tolerating it well for 10 weeks with good outcomes. However he then started with the side effects.

If you read my profile you can see what happened, reduction in dose and the alternative treatment he is now on, which may help you.

Thanks Margyy

Hello, thank you for replying - it sounds like your partner has been through a lot. sending best wishes and positive vibes for good results. 

Interesting to hear about enco & bini as I had not heard of these. Will ask at my next appointment. 

thanks again! 

Hi, I started dab and tram in February on max dose and suffered from nausea,  sickness, fatigue and chills. Two weeks in, developed a rash on my legs that got progressively worse and painful and spread to my arms.  My oncologist reduced my dose by a third just over 2 weeks ago.  My rash is still there but has calmed down and no longer painful and get the chills every couple of days rather than every day.  So, we are sticking with the lower dose for now.  Good luck!

Hi everyone 

I joined this forum because I am BRAF positive even though I have NSCLC not melanoma. I thought I could contribute to your accounts of the side effects since my targeted therapy is the Dab Tram combo and I have taken this every day for 3 years and three months. After a couple of months my dose was reduced due to the side effects, which were truly nasty and much as everyone describes. When I resumed my full dose,  my oncologist prescribed prednisolone and I was also rigorous about taking paracetamol. What happened quite quickly was that the side effects settled into a pattern of affecting me for about a week to 10 days every six weeks. Last year, they lessened in severity and that has continued although some “bouts” are worse than others. I am having a bad bout now with all the usual suspects of pyrexia, stomach upset, painful skin rash and joints, exhaustion, sore nose and probably more but I know it will all go soon. Thanks to these drugs I have had three years of life so I would say if at all you can, persevere. 

Good luck. 

Hi everyone, thank you so much for your responses. It’s interesting & reassuring to hear that we’ve had similar experiences. I also had my dose reduced nearly a month ago and it has made a difference - I still got some side effects but they were much more manageable. 

Unfortunately I’ve just got home after a week in hospital with an infection that made me really unwell. So while that wasn’t caused by the drugs directly it’s a harsh reminder of what can happen when going through this experience! 

That said I hope to restart my dab & tram on the lower dose when I’m fully recovered. 

Thanks again for all your replies!