imatinib (Glivec)

following a re-submission

imatinib (Glivec®) is accepted for restricted use within NHS Scotland.

Indication under review: adjuvant treatment of adult patients who are at significant risk of relapse following resection of Kit (CD117)-positive gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST).

Patients who have a low or very low risk of recurrence should not receive adjuvant treatment. SMC restriction: Imatinib is restricted to use in patients at high risk of recurrence following complete resection (according to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) risk criteria).

Imatinib, given for a period of one year, significantly improved the estimated one year recurrence-free survival compared with placebo and was associated with an increase of 16.4 months in median time to recurrence in patients at high risk of relapse following resection. The economic case was demonstrated for a one-year adjuvant treatment duration only.