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Introduction: Imatinib is the standard first-line therapy for advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) shows a faster response than computed tomography in nonpretreated patients. Patients & methods: After disease progression on imatinib 400 mg, 16 patients were exposed to 800 mg. Tumor response was evaluated by FDG PET/CT on days 7 and 37. Primary objective was to correlate early metabolic response (EMR) with progression-free survival (PFS). Results: EMR by FDG PET/CT scan was not predictive of PFS. Median PFS in these patients was 3 months. Overall survival was influenced by gastric primary site (p = 0.05). Conclusion: The assessment of EMR by FDG PET/CT in patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor exposed to imatinib 800 mg was not predictive of PFS or overall survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]