Glivec approved for GIST treatment

The Korea Food and Drug Administration on March 4 approved the Novartis drug Glivec (imatinib mesylate) for the treatment of patients with Kit (CD 117) positive unresectable (inoperable) and/or metastatic malignant gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs).

The effectiveness of Glivec in GIST is based on the objective response rate. There are no controlled trials demonstrating a clinical benef...