The results of the ENESTg1 trial confirm the efficacy of imatinib, but not nilotinib, as a first-line treatment for gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) harbouring sensitizing mutations in KIT or PDGFRA. Nilotonib might prove to be beneficial in other subset of patients; however, there remains an urgent unmet need to address the GIST subtypes that are therapeutic orphans.
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M.A.P. and G.B. declare that the University of Bologna has received a research grant for preclinical studies in GIST from Novartis Oncology.
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Pantaleo, M., Biasco, G. Management of GIST—go beyond imatinib: treat resistant subtypes. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 12, 440–442 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2015.107
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2015.107
