Dr. Peter Reichardt presented a retrospective study wherein sorafenib showed significant clinical activity in resistant metastatic GIST patients. The clinical data of 32 patients who had successively failed imatinib, sunitinib and nilotinib were reviewed for outcome subsequent to fourth line sorafenib therapy. Clinical benefit was observed in 75 percent of the cases including seven partial responses and 17 achieving stable disease.
Median progression-free survival was reported as 5.7 months. This data is in line with data presented at the 2008 American Society of Clinical Oncologists conference (ASCO) from the Phase II sorafenib trial at the University of Chicago. Patients in that trial were resistant to either imatinib or imatinib and sunitinib. Data showing response by mutation is still under development at both centers. We have heard unofficially from more than one source that a phase III trial of sorafenib in GIST is on the drawing board.