Response assessment in gastrointestinal stromal tumor

Imatinib is standard first-line treatment for patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). Initial responses are not always accompanied by reductions in tumor size; consequently, other parameters should be considered in response assessments. Conventional size-based criteria such as Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) may underestimate responses to imatinib and have poor predictive value for outcome. Imatinib-responding tumors demonstrate decreased metabolic activity on positron emission tomography within the first weeks of treatment, often showing reduced density and greater homogeneity on computed tomography (CT) scans regardless of initial changes in tumor size. New criteria, based on reductions in tumor size or in tumor density on CT, seem more sensitive and specific for detecting early responses to imatinib, and more predictive of time to tumor progression and disease-specific survival. Compared with conventional size-based criteria, new CT-based criteria may potentially offer improved response assessment and be predictive of outcome in GIST. However, such emerging criteria should be further explored and validated in large, multicenter trials with imatinib and other kinase inhibitors in GIST and in other solid tumors.