Phase II study of neoadjuvant imatinib in glioblastoma: evaluation of clinical and molecular effects of the treatment.

Purpose: Phase I-II studies indicate that imatinib is active in glioblastoma multiforme. To better understand the molecular and clinical effects of imatinib in glioblastoma multiforme, we conducted a neoadjuvant study of imatinib with pretreatment and posttreatment biopsies.

Experimental Design: Patients underwent a computerized tomography-guided biopsy of their brain tumors.