Evaluation of the basal expression of beclin-1 in GIST-882 and GIST-T1 cell lines showed that higher beclin-1 levels in GIST-882 cells than those in GIST-T1 cells (Fig. 6c), which might be related to the higher tolerance of GIST-882 cells to IM treatment. This evidence concerns the gene BECN1 and gastrointestinal stromal tumor.