Discontinuation versus continuation of imatinib in patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumours (BFR14): Exploratory long-term follow-up of an open-label, multicentre, randomised, phase 3 trial

Researchers looked at the exploratory long-term outcomes of patients with advanced GIST stopping imatinib in the BFR14 trial, an open-label, randomized, phase 3 trial. An interpretation of the results showed that imatinib interruption in patients with GIST without progressive disease is not recommended and was associated with rapid progression, faster resistance to imatinib, and shorter overall survival in the long-term follow-up when compared with imatinib continuation in patients after 3 years and 5 years of imatinib.