Prognostic factors for survival in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors treated with adjuvant imatinib

Abstract

Introduction: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors are rare neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract. A considerable number of cases have risk factors that cause early recurrence of the disease, therefore, adjuvant therapy with imatinib in this group of patients manages to increase the disease-free interval and overall survival. Objective: To evaluate the prognostic factors that influence the survival of patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors in localized stages in adjuvant treatment with imatinib. Material and Methods: A retrospective and observational study was carried out in patients diagnosed with gastrointestinal stromal tumors who received adjuvant treatment with imatinib at the Ameijeiras Hospital between 2003 and 2020. Survival was evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression was used to determine independent prognostic factors for survival. Results: The disease-free survival rates at 2, 3, and 5 years were 84.6 %, 81.2 %, and 74.5 %, respectively. The overall survival rates at 2, 3, and 5 years were 96.6 %, 88.6 %, and 81.9 %, respectively. Patients aged >60 years, non-gastric tumor location, higher mitotic index, and presence of positive surgical margins were independent prognostic factors related to lower survival. Conclusions: This study is the first Cuban report in the real world on the use of adjuvant imatinib. The results obtained in overall survival and disease-free survival are similar to those reported internationally.

Keywords

• tumores del estroma gastrointestinal, imatinib, pronóstico, supervivencia, localización tumoral no gástrica.