A simple lab test can reveal how well patients with a particularly deadly gastrointestinal cancer will respond to the cancer-fighting drug Gleevec, a new study finds.The test is designed to determine the particular type of gene mutation causing the cancer. Patients with a favorable test result had an 84 percent chance of partial remission after taking Gleevec, researchers report in the current issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. None of those with unfavorable test results experienced partial remission.
