• Malignant gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST) have a poor prognosis. Since these tumours are resistant to conventional radiation and chemotherapy, surgery has been the mainstay of treatment. However, surgery is usually inadequate for the treatment of malignant GIST. Imatinib, a KIT tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has recently been found to have a dramatic antitumour effect on GIST. In this centre-based study of 17 consecutive patients with high-risk or overtly malignant GIST, imatinib was used in three different settings - palliatively, adjuvantly, and neoadjuvantly. The treatment was found to be safe and particularly effective in tumours with activating mutations of exon 11 of the KIT gene. Clinical response to imatinib treatment correlated morphologically to tumour necrosis, hyalinisation, and reduced proliferative activity. The value of neoadjuvant imatinib treatment was illustrated in one case.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Cancer och onkologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Cancer and Oncology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Adult

Aged

Antineoplastic Agents

administration & dosage

pharmacology

Chemotherapy

Adjuvant

Female

Gastrointestinal Neoplasms

drug therapy

pathology

surgery

Humans

Male

Middle Aged

Neoadjuvant Therapy

Palliative Care

Piperazines

administration & dosage

pharmacology

Prognosis

Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit

genetics

Pyrimidines

administration & dosage

pharmacology

Risk Factors

Stromal Cells

pathology

Treatment Outcome

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)