THYMIC CARCINOMA WITH C-KIT MUTATION 

Lung Cancer. 2013 Jan 31. pii: S0169-5002(13)00009-3. doi: 10.1016/j.lungcan.2013.01.003. [Epub ahead of print]

When a thymic carcinoma "becomes" a GIST.

Rossi V, Donini M, Sergio P, Passalacqua R, Rossi G, Buti S.

Source

Department of Medical Oncology, Istituti Ospitalieri of Cremona, Italy. Electronic address: valentina.rossi@ircc.it.

Abstract

Thymic carcinoma (TC) is a rare intrathoracic malignancy that it can be invasive and refractory to conventional treatment. Comprehensive genomic analysis evidenced a molecularly distinct subset of thymic carcinoma with high prevalence of c-kit mutation, which may behave as a gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). Here, we present a case report of TC with c-Kit mutation, who has relapsed after exposure to multiple lines of combination chemotherapy, but he has shown an impressive and long lasting response to sunitinib after imatinib failure.