Next generation sequencing of wildtype gastrointestinal stromal tumour
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Next generation sequencing of wild type gastrointestinal stromal tumours to identify therapeutic targets.
IRAS ID
174962
Contact name
Newton A.C.S. Wong
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 30 days
Research summary
Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) are rare cancers of the gut but are disproportionately difficult to treat. This is particularly because, until recently, there were no chemotherapeutic drugs which were effective against GIST. The kinase inhibitor imatinib is now known to be effective against the majority of GISTs, at least initially. However, there are certain subtypes of GIST which respond less well, or not at all, to imatinib. One such subtype are so-called wild type GISTs (defined by a lack of mutations in the two kinase genes called KIT and PDGFRA). There is therefore a need to discover drugs which are more effective against wild type GISTs.
Increasingly more and more cancers are being treated by drugs that specifically target a molecule which is dysfunctional in a particular cancer. The following study aims to discover which molecules are dysfunctional in wild type GISTs so that they may be further studied as potential targets for specific drugs. Next generation sequencing is a new molecular technique which allows hundreds to thousands of molecules to be studied at once. This analysis will be applied to a total of 12 wild type GISTs (including two paediatric-type GISTs) and, for comparison, four mutated (two KIT mutated and two PDGFRA mutated) GISTs. Any molecules which are highlighted by this initial screening technique will then be individually studied by more specific molecular tests. These finally verified molecules will be proposed as potential targets for specific chemotherapeutic drugs.REC name
North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/NW/0555
Date of REC Opinion
23 Jun 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion