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20-Year Study Shows Long-Term Survival Possible With GIST Cancer Treatment

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20-Year Study Shows Long-Term Survival Possible With GIST Cancer Treatment

A new study offers hope for people with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). It shows that some patients treated with imatinib, a targeted cancer drug, can live many years—some even over two decades.

GIST is a rare type of cancer that usually starts in the stomach or intestines. It’s often caused by a genetic change in a protein called KIT. For over 20 years, imatinib (known by the brand name Gleevec) has been used to block this protein and stop the cancer from growing.

This long-term study followed 434 patients with advanced or inoperable GIST for nearly 20 years. The results showed that 1 in 3 patients lived at least 10 years, and more than 1 in 10 lived 20 years.

Patients had the best outcomes if their tumors were in the stomach, smaller in size, or had a specific KIT mutation (exon 11). Women also lived longer on average than men. Those who responded completely to imatinib or were able to have surgery to remove all cancer spots had the longest survival—double that of others.

This study confirms that imatinib remains a powerful and long-lasting treatment for many people with advanced GIST. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with GIST, talk to your oncologist about testing for mutations and whether imatinib or surgery could be part of your treatment plan.

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