Imatinib treatment of metastatic GIST: don't stop (believing).

摘要

The use of imatinib to treat chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) and gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST) represents the first successful application of small moleculetyrosine-kinase inhibitors (TKIs)totreat human cancer. Imatinib targets genomically activated kinases in these diseases; BCR-ABL1 in the case of CML and KIT (or PDGFRA) in the case of GIST. These results validated the principle of identifying and selectively targeting genomically activated oncogenes in human cancers, particularly those that are so-called oncogene addicted. The revolution brought by imatinib in treating CML and GIST led to the testing and approval of additional TKIs to treat these diseases. Ongoing clinical and experimental studies of these diseases continue to yield insights relevant to the treatment of other human cancers.