Conditions: Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors Cancer Brain Solid Tumors
Keywords: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors Imatinib Peginterferon α-2b Immunotherapy Targeted therapy
Allocation: NA | Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Enrollment: 8
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
Imatinib (IM) has dramatically improved survival of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). However, most patients become resistant to IM in less than two years. This clinical trial combines targeted therapy (IM) with immunotherapy (peginterferon α-2b). Hypothesis: Apoptosis/necrosis of imatinib-sensitive GIST releases GIST-specific antigens in vivo while Peginterferon α-2b fulfills the role of cytokine signal (danger signal), this combination can induce effective innate and adaptive anti-GIST immunity, which can eradicate imatinib-resistant clones and GIST stem cells via recognition of common antigens shared with imatinib-sensitive GIST, leading to improved response rate and remission duration.

Detailed description:

Arms:
arm 1: All participants enrolled in the study.

Interventions: intervention 1: Peginterferon-alpha 2b (PegIFNa2b); intervention 2: Imatinib
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Treatment include PegIFNa2b high dose (3 mcg/kg/wk) X 4 doses and low dose (1.5 mcg/kg/wk) X 18 doses, followed by surgical evaluation to render pt disease free if possible. intervention 2: Continue imatinib until progression.

Protocol document: