Review Article
Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors Short Review on KIT/PDGFRA Gene Mutations and Molecular Therapy
Ruihua Xie* | |
Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Pain Basic Research and Clinic Therapy, Department of Neurobiology, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, P R China | |
Corresponding Author : | Ruihua Xie Institute of Neuroscience Key Laboratory of Pain Basic Research and Clinic Therapy Department of Neurobiology, Soochow University Suzhou, 215123, P R China E-mail: aimee0801@gmail.com |
Received March 25, 2013; Accepted April 20, 2013; Published April 22, 2013 | |
Citation: Xie R (2013) Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors Short Review on KIT/ PDGFRA Gene Mutations and Molecular Therapy. J Gastroint Dig Syst S12:004. doi: 10.4172/2161-069X.S12-004 | |
Copyright: © 2013 Xie R. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
Abstract
Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are most frequent mesenchimal neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract. Current knowledge demonstrates that the KIT and PDGFRA gene mutations play a central part in the pathogenesis. Mutations can be subdivided into primary and secondary mutations. Secondary mutations usually occur in KIT kinase domains after tyrosine kinase inhibitors treatment resulting in resistance to drugs. Besides surgery, therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors has led to develop novel treatments for patients now. However, secondary resistance has become a significant concern, illustrating the need to increase collaboration between surgical management and molecular therapy.