Identification of biological factors predictive of response to imatinib mesylate in aggressive fibromatosis

A. Dufresne, F. Bertucci, N. Penel, A. Le Cesne, B. Bui, M. Tubiana-Hulin, I. Ray-Coquard, D. Cupissol, C. Chevreau, D. Perol, A. Goncalves, M. Jimenez, P. P. Bringuier, J. Y. Blay

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    36 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Background: Imatinib induces responses and disease stabilisations in non-resectable patients with aggressive fibromatosis (AF). The precise target of imatinib in AF and predictive factors for response to treatment are unknown. Methods: We investigated factors potentially predictive of response to imatinib in a series of 40 patients with progressive AF included in a phase II trial of imatinib: we tested the presence of KIT exon 10 variant (M541L), the expression of imatinib-sensitive kinases and cell cycle proteins by immunohistochemistry (IHC), and other clinical and biological factors. Results: Of 10 patients for whom DNA could be extracted, 3 had a KIT exon 10 variant (30%), with no correlation with response or progression-free survival (PFS). The expression of other imatinib targets (PDGFRA/B, macrophage colony-stimulating factor receptor (M-CSFR)) and of downstream components of the cell cycle, cell proliferation and proliferation pathway (cyclin D1, ERK, MEK 1-2) did not correlate with PFS. Pre-treatment lymphopenia (1500/l) and tumour size 120 mm correlated with shorter PFS in univariate and multivariate analyses.Conclusion:Our findings show that a baseline biological characteristic of the patient is the major parameter influencing response to imatinib in aggressive fibromatosis. Tumour characteristics, including the presence of a KIT exon 10 M541L variant, may influence tumour control but this needs to be confirmed and better explained.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)482-485
    Number of pages4
    JournalBritish Journal of Cancer
    Volume103
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 10 Aug 2010

    Keywords

    • aggressive fibromatosis
    • imatinib mesylate
    • predictive factors

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