GISTs can be classified as "high risk" based on their size, location, and how fast they are growing. (For more information, see Risk of Recurrence.) Patients with high-risk GISTs who receive a TKI after surgery have a reduced risk of their tumor returning. A study of adjuvant treatment in GIST showed that when patients took daily TKI treatment after surgery, very few had a return of GIST—only one patient out of 23 (4%). Among patients who had surgery but did not receive TKI treatment, 32 out of 48 (67%) had a return of GIST—most within 2 years.

If you have had a GIST surgically removed, ask your doctor if adjuvant TKI treatment is right for you.