A trial comparing nilotinib with imatinib for advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumours

This trial was comparing 2 drugs called nilotinib and imatinib for gastrointestinal stromal tumours that couldn't be completely removed with surgery, or had spread to other parts of the body. A gastrointestinal tumour (GIST) is a rare type of soft tissue sarcoma found in the digestive system, most often in the wall of the stomach.

Most people who have a GIST have surgery to remove it and this may cure it completely. But sometimes the cancer will begin to grow again. It may come back in the same place, or it may start to grow somewhere else, such as in the liver.

People who have a GIST that cannot be completely removed with surgery may have treatment with imatinib. This is a type of biological therapy called a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). TKIs work by blocking a chemical (an enzyme) that cancer cells need in order to grow and divide.

In this trial, researchers compared imatinib with another TKI called nilotinib (also called Tasigna). They wanted to see if nilotinib helped people with a GIST more than imatinib. The main aims of the trial were to

• Find out which drug was best at stopping or delaying the cancer coming back
• Learn more about the side effects