Objective To study the effects and adverse reaction of imatinib mesylate used to prevent the recurrence of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) after resection. Methods 22 patients with primary gastrointestinal stromal tumor were included in the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from January, 2007 to November, 2009 who received resection and were imageologically diagnosed as no residual tumor by enhanced CT or enhanced MRI after resection. They were all given imatinib mesylate 400 mg for oral use daily after resection (median-risk GIST: more than 1 year; high-risk GIST: more than 2 years). Patients’ 1-year and 2-year relapse-free survival (RFS) and adverse reaction were recorded during follow-up. Results Among 22 patients, there were 13 males and 9 females, with median age of 57.4 years, and 9 high-risk cases were included. The median follow-up lasted 34 months (24 to 48 months). Patients’ 1-year and 2-year RFS was 100% and 94.5%, respectively. Adverse reaction mainly included edema, nausea, abdominal pain, muscle or bone pain, thrombocytopenia, weakness, skin rashes, etc., most of which were mild or moderate and could be alleviated after treating symptoms. Conclusion Imatinib mesylate therapy given after resection is a safe and reliable method which could prolong RFS and prevent or delay the recurrence of GIST. However, further high-quality randomized controlled trial was required to verify its curative effects, since no control group has been set in our study.
Objective To explore the inhibitory mechanism of Imatinib mesylate on pulmonary fibrosis induced by bleomycin inmice. Methods A total of 120 C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into four groups, ie. a control group, a model group, a dexamethasone group, and an Imatinib group. The model of pulmonary fibrosis was established by a single intratracheal instillation of bleomycin in the rats. Then dexamethasone or Imatinib were given intraperitoneally respectively. On day 7, 14, 21 after the treatment, 10 mice of each group were sacrificed respectively. The expressions of TGF-β1 and α-SMA in lung tissue were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. The mRNA expression of TGF-β1 was measured by RT-PCR. Results The expressions of TGF-β1 and α-SMA in lung tissue at each time point were significantly increased in the model group compared with the control group. And the expressions were obviously decreased in the dexamethasone group and the Imatinib group compared with the model group, with no significant differences between the two treatment groups. The expression of TGF-β1 was positively correlated with the α-SMA expression ( r= 0. 251, P lt;0. 05) . Conclusion The inhibitory effect of Imatinib on pulmonary fibrosis may be related to the inhibition of TGF-β1 and α-SMA expressions.
Objective To investigate the effect of imatinib mesylate on radiation-induced lung injury mice and its influence on the oxidative stress and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) expression in mice. Methods Forty-five C57BL/6 mice were divided into a treatment group, a control group and a model group. The treatment group and model group were given radiation of 18 Gy delivered in the thorax. After 4 h daily of the radiation, the treatment group received imatinib mesylate of 0.081 g/kg, while the other groups were given normal saline solution. The experiments were continued for 30 days. After the experiments, the lungs of mice were divided into 4 parts. The haematoxylin and eosin and immunohistochemical stain were prepared to observe the situation of pathology and TGF-β1. The lung homogenate was prepared and the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity (T-Aoc) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) were detected. Results The levels of GSH-PX, T-Aoc and SOD were (173.15±12.21) U, (119.33±11.06) U/mgprot and (1.73±0.33) nmol/mgprot in the treatment group, significantly higher than the control group, while the levels of MDA was (0.68±0.08) nmol/mgprot, significantly lower than the control group (P<0.05). The HE and immunohistochemical stain showed that there were mild alveolar inflammatory changes in the treatment group while such changes were serious in the model group. The scores of HE and immunohistochemical were 1.26±0.12 and 0.31±0.12 in the treatment group, significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion The imatinib mesylate can effectively ameliorate the oxidative stress and inhibite TGF-β1 expression in radiation-induced lung injury mice.