A new blood testing technology may lead to major changes in treatment of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors. In a study presented in April by Dr. George Demetri of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting, the blood test was shown to be more effective than traditional biopsies in identifying secondary mutations in GIST.
The issue of personalized medicine, also referred to as "precision medicine" in the article, was addressed in a newsletter article by LRG Executive Director Norman Scherzer in February. We hope to follow up with more articles on the topic soon.
Executive Director’s report focuses on better treatment options for GISTers For my Executive Director’s report, I usually highlight the many accomplishments of the Life Raft Group. Some of which include: Launching a GIST Day [...]
A new gene panel takes mutation testing to a new level. The panel tests for mutations in 23 genes at once will help to properly classify wild-type GIST patients. Working with next generation sequencing [...]
Mutational testing determines whether you have a mutation present in your tumor, and what genotype it is. Examples include Exon 11 or 9 (for KIT positive tumors), Platelet Driven Growth Factor Receptor Alpha (PDGFRA), or [...]
Recently, the Life Raft Group began work on a survey project sponsored by Novartis Pharmaceuticals designed to assess knowledge and practices among patients and physicians regarding mutational analysis and plasma level testing.
As of May 1, 2011, the LRG patient registry only received 377 reports of mutations out of 1,327 patients, which only represents 28 percent of the entire registry. Part of this may be related to the fact that mutational testing is not common practice at diagnosis.
Only six percent of GIST patients in the United States take advantage of testing that could be used to individualize their treatment according to a new article in the Annals of Oncology. Dr. Peter Pisters of MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas and his colleagues reported results of the GIST reGISTry, a Novartis Pharmaceuticals-supported registry of 882 GIST patients in the United States.
January 6th, 2011 - By Jerry Call, LRG Science CoordinatorThe first ever clinical trial specifically for the PDGFRA D842V mutation has been announced by Arog pharmaceuticals. The phase II trial is scheduled to open in [...]
UPDATE - January 6th, 2011 by Jerry Call, LRG Science Coordinator The first ever clinical trial specifically for the PDGFRA D842V mutation has been announced by Arog pharmaceuticals. The phase II trial is scheduled [...]
