DeMatteo Lab

Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST) is the most common human sarcoma. While the small molecule drug imatinib has served as the paradigm for tyrosine kinase inhibition and has been effective in GIST, most patients will eventually develop drug resistance and disease progression. Our lab prioritizes the use of multiple immunocompetent genetically engineered mouse models of GIST to study in vivo tumor biology and immunology. The goal of our lab is to develop novel therapies, with a particular focus on immunotherapy, to overcome imatinib resistance. Multiple therapies identified in our mouse models have been translated into clinical trials for GIST patients.

Ronald P. DeMatteo, MD. FACS
Principal Investigator