 Sunitinib malate is drug that has been shown to inhibit the activity of the KIT protein. The FDA approved sunitinib in 2006 for patients with GIST. It has been shown that sunitinib malate works in these patients because of its activity against the KIT protein. The FDA also approved Sunitinib malate in 2006 for the treatment of metastatic kidney cancer, where its effectiveness is probably due to its ability to block a different set of proteins. 