Proteomic detection of a large amount of SCGFα in the stroma of GISTs after imatinib therapy

Background Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most frequent mesenchymal tumors to develop in the digestive tract. These tumors are highly resistant to conventional chemotherapy and only the introduction of imatinib mesylate has improved the prognosis of patients. However, Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors are inappropriate for assessing tumor response, and the histological/pathological response to imatinib is variable, heterogeneous, and does not associate with clinical response. The effects of imatinib on responding GISTs are still being explored, and few studies correlate the clinical response with the histological response after pharmacological treatment. Recently, apoptosis and autophagy were suggested as possible alternative mechanisms of pharmacological response.