Dr. Abraham on Remaining Questions With Pexidartinib in TGCT

John A. Abraham, MD, FACS, founder, Orthopaedic Oncology Service, Rothman Orthopaedic Institute, and attending surgeon, Orthopaedic Surgery, Fox Chase Cancer Center, discusses remaining questions with pexidartinib (Turalio) in tenosynovial giant cell tumor (TGCT).

In August 2019, the FDA approved pexidartinib for the treatment of adult patients with symptomatic TGCT that is associated with severe morbidity or function limitations and not responsive to improvement with surgery.

The regulatory decision marked the first approval in TGCT. As such, the question of how to best utilize the agent in practice remains to be seen, Abraham says.

For example, it may be best to give pexidartinib to all patients with TGCT for 3 months prior to surgery, similar to what is done with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, says Abraham. Alternatively, giving pexidartinib for 6 months after surgery may be an optimal way of decreasing the rate of recurrence.

Another option is to use the agent preoperatively and perform surgery in patients who progress on pexidartinib, explains Abraham.

Ongoing research efforts are aimed at navigating these questions and optimizing the use of pexidartinib in patients with TGCT, concludes Abraham.