title: Adjuvant imatinib therapy for gastrointestinal stromal tumors.
abstract: Surgery is the standard of care for primary resectable gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs), but half of surgically treated patients relapse. Imatinib (IM) has been shown to prolong recurrence-free survival after complete surgery and is now approved as adjuvant therapy (400  mg/day) for high-risk GIST patients. IM is well tolerated, with mild to moderate side effects observed. Whether adjuvant IM prolongs overall survival is under evaluation in two ongoing clinical trials.
authors: Department of Surgical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030-4009, USA. ppisters@mdanderson.org
authors: Peter W T
authors: PW
authors: Pisters
authors: Chiara
authors: C
authors: Colombo
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001549:Benzamides; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics; D046152:Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D000068877:Imatinib Mesylate; D010879:Piperazines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011743:Pyrimidines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D020796:Receptor, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor alpha / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D001549:Benzamides; D010879:Piperazines; D011743:Pyrimidines; D000068877:Imatinib Mesylate; D020796:Receptor, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor alpha