Phase II trial of imatinib (Gleevec) in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Robotic Duodenal Sleeve Resection for Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor with Rare Exon 8 KIT Mutation Following Neoadjuvant Imatinib
06:43

Robotic Duodenal Sleeve Resection for Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor with Rare Exon 8 KIT Mutation Following Neoadjuvant Imatinib

Published on: April 3, 2026

Jacqueline Vuky1, Christina Isacson, Mehran Fotoohi

  • 1Section of Hematology/Oncology, Virginia Mason Hospital and Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. jacqueline.vuky@vmmc.org

Investigational New Drugs
|December 29, 2005
PubMed

Insights

This Phase II trial investigated imatinib for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). No patients achieved a response, indicating limited efficacy for this treatment in advanced RCC.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Clinical Pharmacology

Background:

  • Metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) presents a significant clinical challenge.
  • Targeted therapies are crucial for improving outcomes in advanced RCC.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the efficacy and safety of imatinib in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.
  • To assess KIT (CD117) protein expression in RCC tumors treated with imatinib.

Main Methods:

  • A Phase II clinical trial was conducted involving 14 patients with metastatic RCC.
  • Patients received oral imatinib 400 mg twice daily.
  • Tumor samples were analyzed for KIT protein expression using immunohistochemistry (IHC).

Main Results:

  • No complete or partial responses were observed in the 12 evaluable patients.
  • The most frequent toxicities included Grade II/III nausea (28%) and Grade II renal insufficiency (14%).
  • Only one tumor (7%) showed strong, diffuse KIT protein expression; others were negative.

Conclusions:

  • Imatinib demonstrated limited efficacy as a treatment for metastatic renal cell carcinoma in this study.
  • The observed toxicities were manageable.
  • Further research may be needed to identify predictive biomarkers for imatinib response in RCC.

More Related Videos

Establishing Dual Resistance to EGFR-TKI and MET-TKI in Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells In Vitro with a 2-step Dose-escalation Procedure09:38

Establishing Dual Resistance to EGFR-TKI and MET-TKI in Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells In Vitro with a 2-step Dose-escalation Procedure

Published on: August 11, 2017

A Syngeneic Mouse Model of Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma for Quantitative and Longitudinal Assessment of Preclinical Therapies06:38

A Syngeneic Mouse Model of Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma for Quantitative and Longitudinal Assessment of Preclinical Therapies

Published on: April 12, 2017

Related Concept Videos

Targeted Cancer Therapies02:57

Targeted Cancer Therapies

The targeted cancer therapies, also known as “molecular targeted therapies,” take advantage of the molecular and genetic differences between the cancer cells and the normal cells. It needs a thorough understanding of the cancer cells to develop drugs that can target specific molecular aspects that drive the growth, progression, and spread of cancer cells without affecting the growth and survival of other normal cells in the body.
There are several types of targeted therapies against specific...