Introduction: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are the most common mesenchymal neoplasms affecting the gastrointestinal tract. However, they represent less than 1% of all gastrointestinal malignancies and are classified as rare diseases. Constitutive activating mutations of the KIT proto-oncogene (KIT) and the platelet-derived growth factor receptor A (PDGFRA) gene are the predominant, but not the only, oncogenic drivers of the disease. These driver mutations are present in 85–90% of GIST and are mutually exclusive. The presence of these mutations has been shown to be a predictive factor for response to treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) – imatinib, sunitinib, regorafenib, ripretinib, avapritinib – in patients with disseminated GIST. The driver mutation should be determined prior to starting of systemic therapy in patients with GIST in order to predict the response to standard TKI therapy. In 10–15% of all GIST, the activating mutations in KIT and PDGFRA are not present – those are the so-called KIT/PDGFRA wild-type (WT) GIST. They are characterized by a poor response to TKI.
Patient and methods: In the present study, 118 patients with KIT-positive GIST who started treatment at the Institute of Oncology Ljubljana (OIL) between January 2002 and July 2020 were included. Initially, we identified KIT/PDGFRA/BRAF WT GIST patients by conventional reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Sanger tumor deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequencing method. The KIT/PDGFRA/BRAF WT GIST patients were further characterized by next-generation sequencing (NGS). Clinicopathological features, molecular characteristics of their tumors, date of disease progression and/or death (when applicable) and date of last follow-up were notified.
Results: In the present study, 43.6% of patients with KIT/PDGFRA/BRAF WT GIST, as determined by RT-qPCR and Sanger DNA sequencing, were actually shown to be carriers of pathogenic KIT/PDGFRA mutations by NGS and were found responsive to TKI treatment. The percentage of true KIT/PDGFRA WT GIST in this study decreased from an initial 13.7% determined by RT-qPCR and Sanger DNA sequencing to 3.4% determined by NGS. The treatment outcome of truly WT GIST patients was poor.
Conclusion: The reliability of RT-qPCR and direct Sanger DNA sequencing methods for the determination of WT GIST is insufficient. We recommend that NGS should become a prerequisite for the decision on systemic therapy at least in KIT/PDGFRA/BRAF WT GIST, as determined by RT-qPCR and Sanger DNA sequencing.
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