Effect of KIT and PDGFRA Mutations on Survival in Patients With Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors Treated With Adjuvant Imatinib An Exploratory Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial

IMPORTANCE Little is known about whether the duration of adjuvant imatinib influences the prognostic significance of KIT proto-oncogene receptor tyrosine kinase (KIT) and platelet-derived growth factor receptor a (PDGFRA) mutations. OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of KIT and PDGFRA mutations on recurrence-free survival (RFS) in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) treated with surgery and adjuvant imatinib. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This exploratory study is based on the Scandinavian Sarcoma Group VIII/Arbeitsgemeinschaft Internistische Onkologie (SSGXVIII/AIO) multicenter clinical trial. Between February 4, 2004, and September 29, 2008, 400 patients who had undergone surgery for GISTs with a high risk of recurrence were randomized to receive adjuvant imatinib for 1 or 3 years. Of the 397 patients who provided consent, 341 (85.9%) had centrally confirmed, localized GISTs with mutation analysis for KIT and PDGFRA performed centrally using conventional sequencing. During a median follow-up of 88 months (completed December 31, 2013), 142 patients had GIST recurrence. Data of the evaluable population were analyzed February 4, 2004, through December 31, 2013. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The main outcome was RFS. Mutations were grouped by the gene and exon. KIT exon 11 mutations were further grouped as deletion or insertion-deletion mutations, substitution mutations, insertion or duplication mutations, and mutations that involved codons 557 and/or 558. RESULTS Of the 341 patients (175 men and 166women; median age at study entry, 62 years) in the 1-year group and 60 years in the 3-year group), 274 (80.4%) had GISTs with a KIT mutation, 43 (12.6%) had GISTs that harbored a PDGFRA mutation, and 24 (7.0%) had GISTs thatwere wild type for these genes. PDGFRA mutations and KIT exon 11 insertion or duplication mutations were associated with favorable RFS, whereas KIT exon 9 mutations were associated with unfavorable outcome. Patients with KIT exon 11 deletion or insertion-deletion mutation had better RFS when allocated to the 3-year group compared with the 1-year group (5-year RFS, 71.0% vs 41.3%; P CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Patients with KIT exon 11 deletion mutations benefit most from the longer duration of adjuvant imatinib. The duration of adjuvant imatinib modifies the risk of GIST recurrence associated with some KIT mutations, including deletions that affect exon 11 codons 557 and/or 558.Peer reviewe