Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors Recurrence After Stopping Adjuvant Therapy

Imatinib, as the first-choice drug for the treatment of GIST, has become a classic of targeted drug therapy. In the past 10 years, imatinib has been used as postoperative adjuvant treatment for GIST to prevent recurrence and metastasis and has obtained a good effect. However, two clinical studies, the Z9001 and SSGXVIII trials, suggested that recurrence and metastasis still occurred for some patients after cessation of adjuvant therapy. As the number of domestic patients with primary GIST who receive adjuvant imatinib treatment increases year by year, the number of patients who experience tumor recurrence after imatinib discontinuation will increase too, and relapse after discontinuation will become a hotspot in the diagnosis and treatment of GIST. However, the cause of relapse after drug withdrawal is currently unclear, and the treatment strategies for patients who relapse after drug withdrawal remain controversial. The diagnosis and treatment of this subgroup of patients with GIST needs further exploration. Here we describe the diagnosis and treatment for one patient with relapse after discontinuation of imatinib adjuvant therapy for reference.