Hepatic resection for gastrointestinal stromal tumor liver metastases

Liver resection is the preferred treatment for gastrointestinal stromal tumor liver metastases (GIST LMs) when complete resection can be achieved. Major and extended hepatic resections can be safely performed, and using modern techniques, an increasing proportion of patients with GIST LMs are candidates for potentially curative therapy. The combination of tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy (eg, imatinib) with surgery seems to improve outcome, and although prospective data are lacking, a short neoadjuvant course (6 months) of imatinib therapy followed by resection may improve patient selection for surgery and outcome from treatment. Postoperative therapy with imatinib is generally advised, although the duration of such therapy is not yet clearly defined. These questions may formulate the basis for future prospective studies of imatinib with complete resection of GIST LMs.