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Access through your institution Buy or subscribe An open-label phase II study has recently sought to identify the subtype of patients with melanoma who might respond best to the multi-kinase

inhibitor imatinib mesylate. “A subset of melanomas is characterized by activating alterations in the gene coding for the kinase KIT. We sought to assess whether KIT inhibition in this

subset of melanomas could impact tumor progression,” stated Richard Carvajal, first author of the study. Out of 295 cases of melanoma enrolled into the study, 51 patients were identified to

have _KIT_ mutations or amplifications. These cases were from a cohort of patients with melanoma subtypes previously shown to be enriched for these types of genetic alterations (from acral,

musocal and chronically sun-damaged sites). The identified patients were offered treatment with imatinib and 28 patients went on to receive the therapy. Two patients had durable complete

responses, two had durable partial responses and five had stable disease that lasted for at least 12 weeks, with two of these lasting for more than 6 months. As Carvajal pointed out, “our

study serves as an important proof of concept that inhibition of the protein KIT in patients with advanced melanoma that are biologically driven by activating mutations in _KIT_ can lead to

significant clinical benefit.” Importantly, not all mutations in _KIT_ had the same responses. All six of the durable responses were observed in patients with L576P or K642E amino acid

substitutions, which are the most common KIT alterations in melanoma. This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution ACCESS OPTIONS Access through your institution

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Contact customer support ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER * Carvajal, R. D. _ et al_. KIT as a therapeutic target in metastatic melanoma. _JAMA_ 305, 2327–2334 (2011) Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references Authors * Rebecca Kirk View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS

ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Kirk, R. A new tool for the _KIT_. _Nat Rev Clin Oncol_ 8, 446 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2011.97 Download citation * Published: 28 June 2011 * Issue

Date: August 2011 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2011.97 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Get shareable link Sorry, a

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