# Kinase mutations and imatinib response in patients with metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumour

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-heinrich-kit-mutation-imatinib-response-jco-2003/  
OnCo record `paper-heinrich-kit-mutation-imatinib-response-jco-2003` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

This analysis showed that the type of KIT mutation predicts response to imatinib: tumours with exon 11 mutations responded in over 80 percent of cases, exon 9 mutations in under half, and tumours without a KIT or PDGFRA mutation rarely responded.

## Summary

Mutation analysis of tumours from 127 patients with advanced GIST treated with imatinib in the phase 2 B2222 trial, correlating KIT and PDGFRA genotype with response and progression-free survival.

Partial response was 83.5 percent in KIT exon 11-mutant tumours, 47.8 percent in exon 9-mutant tumours and 0 percent in tumours without a detectable KIT or PDGFRA mutation, with corresponding differences in event-free survival.

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-09-17
- Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology
- Year: 2003
- DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2003.04.190
- Authors: Heinrich MC, Corless CL, Demetri GD, et al.
- Findings: Response 83.5 percent (exon 11) vs 47.8 percent (exon 9) vs 0 percent (no mutation).; PDGFRA mutations found in a subset of KIT wild-type tumours.
- What it means: Mutation testing is standard before imatinib in GIST: exon 11 tumours receive 400 mg, exon 9 tumours are dosed at 800 mg, and PDGFRA D842V tumours are given avapritinib instead.
- Caveats: Retrospective analysis of a trial cohort.

## Sources

- J Clin Oncol 2003: https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2003.04.190
- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14645423/

## Connected records

- cancers: [KIT exon 11-mutant GIST](https://onco.cc/cancers/gist-kit-exon-11/)
- drugs: [Imatinib](https://onco.cc/drugs/imatinib/)
- journals: [Journal of Clinical Oncology](https://onco.cc/journals/jco/)

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