Treatment of Metastatic Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GIST): A Focus on Older Patients

Abstract

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) originating in the Cajal cells are the most common mesenchymal neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract. The median age of patients with this diagnosis is 65 years, and over 20% of cases affect people over the age of 70 years. The effectiveness and tolerability of systemic treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors in older patients with GIST seem to be similar to that in younger patients, but some studies have shown that treatment of older patients is suboptimal. Disability, frailty, comorbidities, and concomitant medications may influence treatment decisions, and toxicities also more often lead to treatment discontinuation. The known safety profile and oral administration route of the tyrosine kinase inhibitors used in GIST may allow maximization of treatment and the best efficacy, especially in older patients. This review summarizes the efficacy data for the systemic treatment of GIST, including data for older patients and from real-world experiences, if available and significant. The reported safety data and general rules for toxicity management, including appropriate patient selection and the need for careful monitoring during treatment, are also discussed.

Association between sarcopenia and clinical outcomes in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: an updated meta-analysis

“…In addition, frailty has a very close overlap with sarcopenia 80 . Frailty was associated with an increased risk for mortality and morbidity related to cancer and worse response to treatment 81 , therefore, this could result in decreased numbers of frail patients who received TACE, hepatectomy, or systemic treatment. This selection bias could explain why we found more impact of sarcopenia in the BCLC-0/BCLC-A groups in comparison with those treated with TACE or systemic treatment.…”