Questions to Consider for Adjuvant Treatment
GIST patients face many decisions about their treatment. Many GIST patients have surgery to remove a primary tumor and do not have detectable metastases at the time of surgery. This large group of patients faces the decision of whether or not to take Gleevec to try to prevent or delay a recurrence. Adjuvant therapy refers to additional treatment given after a main mode of therapy (the main treatment is usually surgery). For example, Gleevec given after surgery in hopes of preventing or delaying a recurrence is called adjuvant therapy.
