Hepatic artery embolization for liver metastasis of gastrointestinal stromal tumor following imatinib and sunitinib therapy.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to determine the efficacy of hepatic artery embolization (HAE) as a therapy for gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) in patients who are refractory to imatinib and sunitinib.

Methods: After institutional review board approval, a retrospective review revealed 11 patients with GIST metastatic to the liver who underwent 15 HAEs between February 2002 and May 2013. These patients were stratified into two groups according to the previous treatment: (a) those treated with HAE as second-line treatment after failing first-line imatinib (n = 3) and (b) those treated with HAE as third-line therapy after failing first-line imatinib and second-line sunitinib (n = 8). Initial therapeutic response, overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and safety were evaluated.

Results: Initial therapeutic response rates at 3 months after HAE were 27.3 % (95 % confidence interval (CI), 6.0-61.0 %) by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumor (RECIST) version 1.0 and 45.5 % (95 % CI, 16.7-76.6 %) by modified RECIST (mRECIST). The median OS and PFS after HAE were 14.9 and 3.9 months in group A and 23.8 and 3.4 months in group B, respectively. No procedure-related mortality or major complication was observed.

Conclusions: HAE is an effective and well-tolerated therapeutic option for GIST liver metastases. Although larger studies are necessary, HAE should be considered as an alternative or adjuvant to third-line or even second-line systemic treatment.