Interactive Case Studies - Overview

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Physicians' Education Resource is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Physicians' Education Resource designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Clinical Management of a Patient With a Localized Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor

1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™
Release Date: April 14, 2009
Expiration Date: April 14, 2010

Interactive Case Study Overview

Insight into the molecular basis of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) growth has greatly changed the therapeutic landscape and the resulting outcomes of patients with this disease. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) targeting the main mutant receptors that drive tumor progression have improved progression-free and overall survival considerably in patients with advanced GIST. The majority of patients present with localized GIST, which can be treated with surgical resection; however, approximately half of these patients experience disease recurrence. Thus, recent clinical trials have evaluated the efficacy and safety of TKIs in both the neoadjuvant and adjuvant settings in patients with resectable GIST in order to reduce recurrence and improve outcomes. Ongoing investigations are focused on 3 major issues regarding the adjuvant treatment of patients with GIST: which patients will benefit from adjuvant therapy, how long therapy should be given, and the appropriate treatment course for patients with progressive disease following adjuvant therapy. 

The purpose of this activity is to educate physicians about the available therapeutic options for treating patients with resectable GIST based on disease characteristics and recent evidence from relevant clinical trials.

This educational activity is intended for medical oncologists involved in the care of patients with GISTs. No specific skills or knowledge other than a basic training in oncology is required for successful participation in this activity.

Target Audience

Upon completion of this educational activity, you should be able to:

  • Integrate current prognostic factor assessment into the selection of treatment for patients presenting with localized GIST
  • Select appropriate patients for adjuvant therapy based on data from randomized clinical trials investigating the efficacy and safety of TKIs in resectable GIST
  • Assess the therapeutic options for disease recurrence in patients who have received adjuvant therapy for localized GIST

Instructions for Participation

  1. Read the following information before entering the educational activity.
  2. Complete the Pretest.
  3. Study the educational activity.
  4. Complete the Posttest.
  5. Answer the evaluation questions.
  6. After completion of the Pretest and successful completion of the Posttest and evaluation, you will receive your certificate online.

You will be permitted 2 attempts to successfully complete the Posttest.

Complete the test(s) and evaluation by April 14, 2010 to receive your certificate online.

Read all of the conditions in the Activity Terms box below. You must accept the CME Activity Terms in order to continue:

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It is the policy of Physicians’ Education Resource to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all of its educational activities. As an organization accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), Physicians’ Education Resource requires everyone who is in a position to control the content of an educational activity, including spouses/partners, to disclose all relevant financial relationships with any commercial interest. The ACCME defines “relevant financial relationships” as financial relationships in any amount occurring within the past 12 months that create a conflict of interest. Physicians’ Education Resource has implemented a mechanism to identify and resolve all conflicts of interest prior to the activity.

Burton Eisenberg, MD
Paid Consultant – Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
Speaker’s Bureau – Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation

PER Editorial Staff
No relevant relationships to disclose

This CME activity might include discussion of investigational and/or unlabeled uses of drugs. If the activity includes discussion of investigational and/or unlabeled uses of a drug, specific information is located on the title page. Please refer to the full prescribing information for each drug discussed in this activity for FDA-approved dosing, indications, and warnings.

Commercial Support
An educational grant for this activity was provided by Novartis Oncology.

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Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this activity are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsor, supporter, or publisher. Although great care has been taken in compiling and checking the information given in this activity to ensure accuracy, the author and Physicians’ Education Resource and its servants or agents shall not be responsible or in any way liable for the continued currency of the information or for any errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this activity, whether arising from negligence or otherwise howsoever or for any consequences arising therefrom.

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©Copyright 2009 by Physicians’ Education Resource. No material may be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form, without written permission from the publisher.

All correspondence should be directed to:
Editor, Interactive Case Study: Clinical Management of a Patient With a Localized Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor
Physicians’ Education Resource
3500 Maple Ave.
Suite 700
Dallas, TX 75219
Phone: (214) 367-3400
Fax: (214) 367-3304
E-mail: editor@cancerlearning.com

Educational Grants

An educational grant for this activity was provided by:


  1. Novartis Oncology

Burton Eisenberg, MD
Attending Surgeon
Surgical Oncology
Deputy Director, Norris Cotton Cancer Center
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
Lebanon, NH
Professor of Surgery
Dartmouth Medical School
Hanover, NH