Study of Hsp90 Inhibitor AUY922 for the Treatment of Patients With Refractory Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are common sarcomas that arise in the gastrointestinal tract. Sunitinib (Pfizer) and imatinib (Novartis) are FDA-approved for treatment of patients with GIST. However, patients with advanced or refractory GIST who are resistant to these agents eventually experience disease progression or death. Heat shock protein-90 (Hsp90) is a substance found in various malignancies that encourages tumor cells to grow and survive. As an inhibitor of Hsp90, AUY922 may decrease growth of tumor cells that were resistant to prior therapies. This study investigates AUY922 monotherapy as treatment for patients who either progressed on, or were resistant to, imatinib and sunitinib.