title: Efficacy of sunitinib in Turkish patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors; retrospective multicenter experience.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Sunitinib is a multi-targeted thyrosine kinase receptor inhibitor used in patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs). We evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of sunitinib therapy in Turkish patients with GISTs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between January 2001 and April 2012, 57 patients who had progressive disease or experienced unacceptable toxicity during imatinib treatment from multiple centers were investigated retrospectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-three patients were male and 24 were female. The median age was 55 years (range; 16-84 years). Thirty-eight of the patients received imatinib for longer than 12 months, 13 patients received for 6-12 months, and 6 patients received for less than six months. The clinical benefit of sunitinib was 73.7%. Treatment-related adverse events were reported in 78% of the patients. Adverse events were generally mild to moderate in intensity. The median progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of the patients that received sunitinib were 10.8 months and 23.9 months, respectively. The time of imatinib usage and response to sunitinib were independent prognostic factors for PFS and OS. Also, tumor size was an independent prognostic factor for PFS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sunitinib is an effective treatment in Turkish patients with GISTs, with a clinical benefit of 73.7% and shows an acceptable tolerability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Dr. Lutfi Kirdar Kartal Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Umut
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Kefeli
authors.forename: Suleyman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Buyuberber
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akyol
authors.forename: Ramazan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yildiz
authors.forename: Muhammed Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.forename: Aydin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ciltas
authors.forename: Alper
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sevinc
authors.forename: Halit
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Karaca
authors.forename: Mesut
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Seker
authors.forename: Nuriye
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ozdemir
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alacacioglu
authors.forename: Ugur
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Coskun
authors.forename: Abdurrahman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Isikdogan
authors.forename: Faysal
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dane
authors.forename: Mahmut
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gumus
authors.forename: Metin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ozkan
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Suner
authors.forename: Mustafa Oktay
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Tarhan
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Benekli
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery; D046152:Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007211:Indoles / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011758:Pyrroles / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D000077210:Sunitinib; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D007211:Indoles; D011758:Pyrroles; D000077210:Sunitinib