title: Targeted therapy of gastrointestinal stromal tumours.
abstract: Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) are mesenchymal neoplasms originating in the gastrointestinal tract, usually in the stomach or the small intestine, and rarely elsewhere in the abdomen. The malignant potential of GISTs is variable ranging from small lesions with a benign behaviour to fatal sarcomas. The majority of the tumours stain positively for the CD-117 (KIT) and discovered on GIST-1 (DOG-1 or anoctamin 1) expression, and they are characterized by the presence of a driver kinase-activating mutation in either KIT or platelet-derived growth factor receptor α. Although surgery is the primary modality of treatment, almost half of the patients have disease recurrence following surgery, which highlights the need for an effective adjuvant therapy. Traditionally, GISTs are considered chemotherapy and radiotherapy resistant. With the advent of targeted therapy (tyrosine kinase inhibitors), there has been a paradigm shift in the management of GISTs in the last decade. We present a comprehensive review of targeted therapy in the management of GISTs.
authors.affiliation: Ashish Jakhetiya, Pankaj Kumar Garg, Jyoti Sharma, Durgatosh Pandey, Department of Surgical Oncology, Dr BRA Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India.
authors.forename: Ashish
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jakhetiya
authors.affiliation: Ashish Jakhetiya, Pankaj Kumar Garg, Jyoti Sharma, Durgatosh Pandey, Department of Surgical Oncology, Dr BRA Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India.
authors.forename: Pankaj Kumar
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Garg
authors.affiliation: Ashish Jakhetiya, Pankaj Kumar Garg, Jyoti Sharma, Durgatosh Pandey, Department of Surgical Oncology, Dr BRA Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India.
authors.forename: Gaurav
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Prakash
authors.affiliation: Ashish Jakhetiya, Pankaj Kumar Garg, Jyoti Sharma, Durgatosh Pandey, Department of Surgical Oncology, Dr BRA Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India.
authors.forename: Jyoti
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Ashish Jakhetiya, Pankaj Kumar Garg, Jyoti Sharma, Durgatosh Pandey, Department of Surgical Oncology, Dr BRA Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India.
authors.forename: Rambha
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pandey
authors.affiliation: Ashish Jakhetiya, Pankaj Kumar Garg, Jyoti Sharma, Durgatosh Pandey, Department of Surgical Oncology, Dr BRA Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India.
authors.forename: Durgatosh
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pandey
keywords: Gastrointestinal tumors; Imatinib; Molecular targeted therapy; Protein kinase inhibitors; Survival