Survival of advanced/recurrent gastrointestinal stromal tumors treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors in Taiwan: a nationwide registry study

BMC Cancer. 2024 Jul 11;24(1):828. doi: 10.1186/s12885-024-12567-1.

Abstract

Background: Most gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) harbor c-KIT or PDGFRA mutations. Administration of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) has significantly improved the survival of patients with GISTs. We aimed to evaluate the clinical outcome of advanced or recurrent GIST patients in Taiwan.

Methods: Patients diagnosed between 2010 and 2020 were enrolled. The collected data included baseline characteristics, treatment pattern, treatment outcome, genetic aberrations and survival status. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed and plotted with the Kaplan-Meier method. Cox regression analysis was used to analyze the prognostic factors of survival.

Results: A total of 224 patients with advanced or recurrent GISTs treated with TKIs were enrolled. All patients received imatinib treatment. Ninety-three and 42 patients received sunitinib and regorafenib treatment, respectively. The 48-month PFS and OS rates for patients treated with imatinib were 50.5% and 79.5%, respectively. c-KIT exon 9 and PDGFRA mutations were prognostic factors for a poor PFS and PDGFRA mutation was a prognostic factor for a poor OS in patients treated with imatinib in multivariate Cox regression analysis. The median PFS of patients who received sunitinib treatment was 12.76 months (95% confidence interval (CI), 11.01-14.52). Patients with c-KIT exon 9 mutations had a longer PFS than those with other genetic aberrations. The median PFS of patients treated with regorafenib was 7.14 months (95% CI, 3.39-10.89).

Conclusions: We present real-world clinical outcomes for advanced GIST patients treated with TKIs and identify mutational status as an independent prognostic factor for patient survival.

Keywords: Gastrointestinal stromal tumor; Metastatic; Recurrent; Registry study; Tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Female
  • Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / drug therapy
  • Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / genetics
  • Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / mortality
  • Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / pathology
  • Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors* / drug therapy
  • Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors* / genetics
  • Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors* / mortality
  • Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors* / pathology
  • Humans
  • Imatinib Mesylate / therapeutic use
  • Kaplan-Meier Estimate
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mutation*
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local* / drug therapy
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local* / genetics
  • Phenylurea Compounds / therapeutic use
  • Prognosis
  • Progression-Free Survival
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors* / therapeutic use
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit* / genetics
  • Pyridines / therapeutic use
  • Receptor, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor alpha* / genetics
  • Registries*
  • Sunitinib / therapeutic use
  • Survival Rate
  • Taiwan / epidemiology
  • Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors

Substances

  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit
  • Receptor, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor alpha
  • regorafenib
  • Sunitinib
  • Imatinib Mesylate
  • KIT protein, human
  • Phenylurea Compounds
  • Pyridines
  • Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors