Key issues in the clinical management of gastrointestinal stromal tumors: An expert discussion

After the revelation of kinase targeting with orally available small molecules, the use of imatinib in chronic myelogenous leukemia and in gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) has now become commonplace and just two of many examples of the use of kinase inhibitors in cancer. In this article, we discuss important practice points that may impact upon questions of therapy of primary and metastatic GIST, with the hope that the questions addressed in this rare solid tumor can serve as examples of what can be achieved with kinase-directed therapies in other cancers. Wepresent cases that highlight some of the key issues in GIST management and afterward discuss both points of consensus and controversial issues in what is now recognizedas one of the most common forms of sarcoma.