| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
EDUCATIONAL REVIEW |
From the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire, (BLE); and the Institute of Cancer Research, Surrey, United Kingdom (IJ).
Correspondence: Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Burton L. Eisenberg, MD, Section of Surgical Oncology, Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Rubin Building, 8th Floor, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, One Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH 03756; Fax: 603-653-9003; E-mail: burton.l.eisenberg{at}dartmouth.edu
ABSTRACT
Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is a neoplasm of the gastrointestinal tract, mesentery, or omentum that expresses the protein-tyrosine kinase KIT (CD117) and is the most common mesenchymal tumor arising at these sites. Surgical resection is the first-line intervention for operable GISTs, particularly localized primary tumors, and it was historically the only effective treatment. However, more than half of all GIST patients present with locally advanced, recurrent, or metastatic disease. The 5-year survival rate ranges from 50% to 65% after complete resection of a localized primary GIST and decreases to approximately 35% for patients with advanced disease who undergo complete surgical resection. A total of 40% to 90% of all GIST surgical patients subsequently have postoperative recurrence or metastasis. Imatinib is a potent, specific inhibitor of KIT that has demonstrated significant activity and tolerability in the treatment of malignant unresectable or metastatic GIST, inducing tumor shrinkage of 50% or more or stabilizing disease in most patients. A key strategy for prolonging the survival of patients with GIST is to improve the outcome of surgery. It is possible that the adjuvant and neoadjuvant use of imatinib (e.g., rendering initially inoperable tumors resectable) in the overall management approach to advanced GIST may contribute to surgeons’ success in attaining this objective.
Key Words: Gastrointestinal stromal tumor • Surgery • Imatinib • KIT • Signal • Transduction inhibitor
This article has been cited by other articles:
 |
|
 |
|
  B. K. P. Goh, P. K. H. Chow, W.-M. Yap, S. M. Kesavan, I.-C. Song, P. G. Paul, B.-S. Ooi, Y.-F. A. Chung, and W.-K. Wong Which Is the Optimal Risk Stratification System for Surgically Treated Localized Primary GIST? Comparison of Three Contemporary Prognostic Criteria in 171 Tumors and a Proposal for a Modified Armed Forces Institute of Pathology Risk Criteria Ann. Surg. Oncol., August 1, 2008; 15(8): 2153 - 2163. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. Rutkowski, Z. I. Nowecki, W. Michej, M. Debiec-Rychter, A. Wozniak, J. Limon, J. Siedlecki, U. Grzesiakowska, M. Kakol, C. Osuch, et al. Risk Criteria and Prognostic Factors for Predicting Recurrences After Resection of Primary Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor Ann. Surg. Oncol., July 1, 2007; 14(7): 2018 - 2027. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. Bonvalot, H. Eldweny, C. Le Pechoux, D. Vanel, P. Terrier, A. Cavalcanti, C. Robert, N. Lassau, and A. Le Cesne Impact of Surgery on Advanced Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GIST) in the Imatinib Era Ann. Surg. Oncol., December 1, 2006; 13(12): 1596 - 1603. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. S. Benjamin, C. D. Blanke, J.-Y. Blay, S. Bonvalot, and B. Eisenberg Management of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors in the Imatinib Era: Selected Case Studies Oncologist, January 1, 2006; 11(1): 9 - 20. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M B Loughrey, C Mitchell, G B Mann, M Michael, and P M Waring Gastrointestinal stromal tumour treated with neoadjuvant imatinib J. Clin. Pathol., July 1, 2005; 58(7): 779 - 781. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
