Anti-cancer drugs
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Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are the most common malignant mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. The principal treatment modality for primary GIST is surgery whereas for metastatic GIST, imatinib has an established role. In patients with locally advanced and metastatic GIST, the role of surgery in the imatinib era is still unclear. ⋯ In conclusion, preoperative imatinib treatment in patients with locally advanced GIST resulted in a decrease of tumor load in most patients, enabling complete surgical resection. For patients with metastatic GIST, the role of surgery remains less clear. Loss or decrease of CD117 expression in the resected specimen after imatinib treatment may be associated with disease recurrence.