Surgery plus TKIs therapy for gastrointestinal stromal tumors

Introduction. In this era of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), the clinical benefit of surgery for patients with metastatic or recurrent gastrointestinal mesenchymal tumor (GIST) is not well defined. The aim of our study was to demonstrate the survival advantage of adding surgery in patients with recurrent or metastatic GIST. Methods. A systematic search of PubMed, Web of Knowledge, Ovid's database was conducted. Relevant studies published by 31 July 2022 on the role of surgery in recurrent or metastatic GIST were identified. Research quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale. Results. Eight studies involving 842 patients were included. The four included studies covered 3-year survival and included 441 patients, of whom 302 received TKIs, and 139 received TKIs plus surgery. 3-year overall survival was significantly higher in the TKIs plus surgery group than in the TKIs group (OR=2.37, 95% CI 1.45-3.88, P = 0.001). The 5-year overall survival was 69.0% in the TKIs plus surgery group compared with 49.1% in the TKIs only group. Survival was significantly higher in TKIs plus surgery group (OR = 2.69, 95%Cl 1.49-4.86, P=0.001). Four studies, including 453 patients, indicated 3-year progression-free survival (PFS). The pooled analysis revealed the TKIs plus surgery group did have a better PFS than the TKIs only group (OR = 4.02, 95% CI: 1.45-11.16, P=0.008). Three included studies focused on gastrointestinal stromal tumor liver metastasis (GLM). The role of surgery plus TKIs had statistically significant better 5-year overall survival as compared with TKI treatment alone (OR = 2.34, 95% Cl 1.30-4.22, P=0.005). Conclusions. Treatment with surgical resection and TKIs could significantly improve the prognosis of patients with recurrent or metastatic GIST.