Objective: To evaluate the efficacy, side effects and toxicity of imatinib mesylate in the treatment of patients with locally advanced and/or metastatic dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP).
Methods: Twenty-four cases of advanced DFSP diagnosed by pathology and treated in our hospital from Nov. 2004 to Oct. 2009 were included in this study. The patients were treated with imatinib mesylate (dosage: 400 mg, po, qd) and carefully observed for treatment efficacy, side effects and survival time. There were 2 patients taking the drug as second line therapy, and other 22 patients as third or more than third line therapy.
Results: The 24 patients were evaluable for the efficacy. There were 8 patients (33.3%) with CR, 10 pts (41.7%) PR, 2 patients (8.3%) SD, and 4 patients (16.7%) PD. The disease control rate (DCR = CR+PR+SD) was 83.3%. The median response time in 18 cases with CR and PR was 5.6 months. The median survival time in 20 cases with disease control was 30 months, however, that in nonresponse (PD) cases was only 10 months. Side reactions related to imatinib mesylate included nausea and vomiting (20.8%), neutropenia (12.5%), and edema (8.3%).
Conclusions: Our results are consistent with previous reports in the literature. Imatinib is a safe and effective moleucular target drug used for Chinese. Only mild adverse reactions occur in the treated patients. It is worth using imatinib in the treatment of advanced DFSP patients.