Safety and efficacy of imatinib mesylate in gastrointestinal stromal tumours: an analysis of 64 cases

Abstract：Objective To investigate the efficacy and adverse effects of imatinib mesylate in gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). Methods A total of 64 patients with GIST were administered with imatinib mesylate between January 2007 and September 2009 at Department of Oncology, Changhai Hospital Attached to the Second Military Medical University.All the patients were managed at a daily dose of 400mg/d and followed up by CT every 3 months. Results Sixty-four patients were followed up for 20 months. Thirty-eight patients were performed local surgical resection and no recurrence was detected.Twenty-six advanced or metastatic GIST patients survived a median overall survival of more than 19 months and 98.4% survived 12 months. One patient (3.85%) showed complete response (CR).Eighteen patients (69.2%) showed partial response(PR),4 patients (15.4%) stable disease and 3 patients (11.5%) progressive disease. The overall response rate (CR + PR) was 73.1%. One year survival rate was 98.4%. The median survival time was more than 19 months. Conclusion Imatinib mesylate as an extremely effective and safe therapy for majority of GIST is believed to be effective against both local and unresectable GIST and toxicity is minimal.