Authors' objectives:

To summarise the current research evidence on imatinib for gastro-intestinal stromal tumours.

Authors' recommendations: - Clinical impact: Although the patient group is relatively small, there are no effective alternative therapies if surgery is not curative. The median survival of unresectable or metastatic GIST is about 12 months. - Service impact: There will be little service impact as imatinib is used on an out-patient basis. - Additional factors: There may be a strong patient lobby to use this treatment especially if the ongoing clinical trials support early trial results. - Financial and overall NHS impact: If imatinib is used for all the 300 estimated cases of GIST within the expected licensed indications per year in England and Wales, the drug costs will be between 5.6M and 11.2M GBP for a year's treatment. The uptake may be rapid given the lack of effective alternatives and the widespread involvement in clinical trials.

Authors' methods: Overview

Project Status: Completed

Year Published: 2002

URL for published report: http://www.hsric.nihr.ac.uk/search

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: England, United Kingdom

Organisation Name: NIHR Horizon Scanning Centre

Contact Address: The NIHR Horizon Scanning Centre, Department of Public Health, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics, School of Health and Population Sciences, University of Birmingham, 90 Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2SP. United Kingdom. Tel: +44 121 414 7831, Fax: +44 121 2269

Contact Name: c.packer@bham.ac.uk

Contact Email: c.packer@bham.ac.uk

Copyright: National Horizon Scanning Centre (NHSC)