Changes in mast cell number & immunophenotype in patients with mastocytosis treated with avaprit

Tracy George, MD, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, discusses the impact of avapritinib therapy for patients with indolent systemic mastocytosis on mast cell numbers and phenotype. Systemic mastocytosis is a rare disease, and in patients with advanced indolent disease, avapritinib, a selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor of activated KIT and PDGFRA, has demonstrated efficacy as evaluated in the PIONEER study (NCT03731260). Avapritinib resulted in a vast reduction in the number of mast cells in patients with indolent systemic mastocytosis and also altered the immunophenotype of aberrant cells. This interview took place at the virtual American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2021.