View clinical trials related to Advanced, Refractory Cancer.
Filter by:KIT is a receptor tyrosine kinase that binds to stem-cell factor (SCF), activating a series of downstream effector pathways. KIT is an established therapeutic target in cancer with activating mutations of KIT, such as gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), and significant benefit is achieved with various small molecule inhibitors of KIT such as imatinib mesylate. Moreover, there is increasing evidence implicating KIT mutations as tractable therapeutic targets in melanoma. Additional information is required to characterize the functional role of low-frequency mutations in KIT and to determine whether amplification of wild type KIT is a real driver that can be targeted therapeutically. Except GIST and melanoma, other solid cancers were reported to have KIT mutation even in low frequency. A molecular profiling of the tumors of patients referred to the phase I clinic at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center showed KIT mutation in 7 patients in total of 431 patients (2%). Hence, the investigators planned this study to apply the molecularly targeted agent, imatinib to various types of cancers harboring KIT mutation or amplification.