A Study of the Efficacy and Safety of Imatinib Mesylate in Patients With Unresectable or Metastatic Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors Expressing C-kit Gene

Inclusion Criteria

• •Men and non-pregnant women ≥18 years of age with the histopathologically documented diagnosis of malignant GIST that was unresectable and/or metastatic. Confirmation of KIT (CD117) expression via immunohistochemical analysis of tumor sample was also required
• •At least one measurable lesion, as defined by Southwestern Oncology Group (SWOG) Solid Tumor Response Criteria, which had not been previously embolized or irradiated
• •Performance status ≤3 as defined by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) criteria, as well as a life expectancy ≥6 months and adequate end organ function defined as follows: Total bilirubin \<1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN), aspartate aminotransferase (SGOT) and alanine aminotransferase (SGPT) \<2.5 x ULN (or \<5 x ULN if hepatic metastases were present), creatinine \<1.5 x ULN, absolute neutrophil count (ANC) \>1.5 x 10\^9/L, platelet count \>100 x 10\^9/L