Targeting gastrointestinal stromal tumors: the role of regorafenib

Abstract

Brett Schroeder,1 Zula Li,2,3 Lee D Cranmer,2,3 Robin L Jones,4 Seth M Pollack2,3 1College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, Grand Rapids, MI, 2Division of Medical Oncology, University of Washington, 3Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA; 4Royal Marsden Hospital, Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK Abstract: Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is a devastating disease in the metastatic setting, but its natural history has been dramatically altered by the development of small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors, most notably imatinib. Although patients with advanced GIST live much longer today than they did in the past, imatinib-refractory disease remains a tremendous problem. For disease that is refractory to imatinib and sunitinib, regorafenib is an excellent option. In this review, we discuss the biology and clinical work establishing regorafenib as the standard of care for advanced GIST refractory to both imatinib and sunitinib. Keywords: regorafenib, GIST, refractory, imatinib

Keywords

• regorafenib
• gastrointestinal stromal tumors
• GIST
• VEGF