Ripretinib

Ripretinib, sold under the brand name Qinlock, is a medication for the treatment of adults with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), a type of tumor that originates in the gastrointestinal tract. It is taken by mouth. Ripretinib inhibits the activity of the kinases KIT and PDGFRA, which helps keep cancer cells from growing.

The most common side effects include alopecia (hair loss), fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain, constipation, myalgia (muscle pain), diarrhea, decreased appetite, palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia syndrome (a skin reaction in the palms and soles) and vomiting.

Ripretinib was approved for medical use in the United States in May 2020, in Australia in July 2020, and in the European Union in November 2021. Ripretinib is the first new drug specifically approved in the United States as a fourth-line treatment for advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST).

Ripretinib is indicated for the treatment of adults with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), a type of tumor that originates in the gastrointestinal tract, who have received prior treatment with three or more kinase inhibitor therapies, including imatinib. GIST is type of stomach, bowel, or esophagus tumor.

The most common side effects include alopecia (hair loss), fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain, constipation, myalgia (muscle pain), diarrhea, decreased appetite, palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia syndrome (a skin reaction in the palms and soles) and vomiting.

Ripretinib can also cause serious side effects including skin cancer, hypertension (high blood pressure) and cardiac dysfunction manifested as ejection fraction decrease (when the muscle of the left ventricle of the heart is not pumping as well as normal).

Ripretinib may cause harm to a developing fetus or a newborn baby.

Ripretinib was approved for medical use in the United States in May 2020.