Advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor patients benefit from palliative surgery after tyrosine kinase inhibitors therapy

Abstract

The role of palliative surgery is controversial in advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) after tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) therapy. We evaluated safety and clinical outcomes in a single institution series of advanced GIST patients from January 2002 to December 2008. One hundred and fifty-six patients had been recruited, including 87 patients underwent surgical resection and 69 patients kept on TKIs treatment. Four patients had major surgical complications. Median follow-up was 38.3 months, the overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of the patients in surgical group were longer than the nonsurgical group, PFS: 46.1 versus 33.8 months (P