Neoadjuvant treatment of locally advanced GIST: Results of APOLLON, a prospective, open label phase II study in KIT- or PDGFRA-positive tumors.
10031 Background: Imatinib may significantly downstage the metastatic GIST. This prospective, phase II, open-label trial of neoadjuvant imatinib evaluated the overall tumor response and progression rate of disease in locally advanced, non-metastic patients. Methods: Inclusion criteria were: KIT (n=39) or PDFRA (n=6) positive GIST, proven by biopsy and IHC. Tumors had to be locally advanced, potentially resectable, M0. Patients received 400 mg of imatinib daily (KIT exon 9 mutations: twice daily) for 6 months, in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. At two months 18F-FDG-PET examination was performed to assess response in paralle to CT imaging. Adjuvant treatment postoperatively was not part of the study protocol (CST1571-BDE43, NCT00112632). Median follow-up is 36 months in 39 patients. Results: From 7/2005 to 10/ 2009, 41 patients (16f, 25 m, mean age 54 yrs) were recruited to the trial with an average tumor size of 10.8 cm. One patient died from myocardial infarction 3 weeks after start of treatment, all other patients completed the protocol. In two patients dose reduction/interruption due to toxicity was required. 34/41 patients underwent resection of the tumor after a median of 200 d (range 57-394), while two patients had to be operated early due to disease progression. R0 resections were performed in 30/34 patients, two patients showed M1 disease at resection. Five patients showed developed progression postop., resulting in a PFS rate at 3 years of 85.2%. No patient has died so far from the disease. Conclusions: Neoadjuvant treatment with imatinib for six months is a safe treatment in patients with locally advanced disease. The extent of the operation can be significantly downsized after pretreatment. Despite the fact that no adjuvant treatment was foreseen, the progression-free rate at 3 years postoperatively is promising.