Correlation of primary kinase genotype and clinical outcome of Imatinib and Sunitinib for treatment of advanced GIST

Background/Purpose: Most gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) harbour mutant KIT kinase, which is imatinib target. Sunitinib, which targets KIT and several other kinases, has demonstrated efficacy in patients with GIST after they experience imatinib failure. But not all patients benefit equally. We examined the impact of primary kinase genotype on imatinib and sunitinib activity. Patients/Methods: Tumour responses were assessed radiologically in 41 patients with unresectable/metastatic GIST. KIT mutational status was retrospectively determined for all these patients by using tumour specimens obtained before…