Efficacy of Imatinib on Advanced and Refractory Desmoid Tumors: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

ABS TRACT Objective: Our study aimed to analyze imatinib’s efficacy, tolerability, and safety in treating naive patients with unresectable and progressive desmoid tumors. Material and Methods: The data of patients who were ?18 years old diagnosed with desmoid tumors treated with imatinib were evaluated retrospectively regarding their demographic features, comorbidities, disease stage, pathological features of the tumor, response rates and progression-free survival (PFS). Results: In our study, 36 patients with advanced desmoid tumors receiving ima-tinib with a median age of 28 [interquartile range (IQR): 21-40] years-old of whom 58.3% were female were included. The patient’s complete response, partial response, stable disease, and progressive disease with imatinib 800 mg/day were 13.9%, 44.4%, 27.7%, and 13.9%, respec-tively. The Grade-3 adverse events, including neutropenia (n=3, 8.3%) and rash (n=3, 8.3%), were relieved after dose reduction. The median PFS was 29 months (95% confidence interval, 16-42 months) with imatinib, and only 3 (8.3%) patients were exitus due to disease progression during the follow-up (median: 43 months, IQR: 24.3-70.8). Conclusion: Our study provided clinical evidence of the efficacy and safety of imatinib in patients with desmoid tumors with real-world experience. However, appropriately designed randomized-controlled clinical trials are needed to explore the effectiveness of imatinib in desmoid tumors to provide an alternative management approach. © 2022 by Turkish Society of Medical Oncology.