The United States Food and Drug Administration approval of Gleevec in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor

Intestinal stromal tumors (GIST) is a relatively rare sarcoma, mainly from the deterioration of Cajal cells and long out of mass, previous surgery apart from early detection, there is no better method of treatment. But even surgery, it is still very high relapse rate. Later, American researchers found basic molecular biology of gastrointestinal stromal tumor cell surface of the Kit gene will be abnormal, and abnormal Gleevec itself Kit cancer have curative effects, so the United States Food and Drug Administration approved Gleevec in metastatic or recurrent gastrointestinal stromal tumor patients. As a result of post-surgical gastrointestinal stromal tumor patients, because even if curative surgery, it is still very high relapse rate. Thus the recent gastrointestinal stromal tumors after surgery whether or not Gleevec study also found that patients given Gleevec one year after the relapse rate is lower than the control group, so Gleevec can be used as adjuvant therapy to reduce post-surgical gastrointestinal stromal tumors recurrence.