This section provides detailed explanations about gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). If you want just the basics, start first at the section FOR NEW GIST PATIENTS which gives an overview of GIST cancer.

What is GIST? describes the characteristics of gastrointestinal stromal tumor and its rarity.

Diagnosis and Pathology Results describes how gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is diagnosed by a pathologist based on cell characteristics and laboratory tests on the tumor cells.

Mutation Analysis: KIT and PDGFRA discusses how the particular mutations shown by different gastrointestinal stromal tumors affect the cancer tumors’ aggressiveness and response to drug treatments.

Familial GIST describes very rare instances of a predisposition to GIST being a heritable trait, resulting in GIST cancer that “runs in families.”

GIST in Neurofibromatosis I describes how gastrointestinal stromal tumor is more common in people affected by NFI and has some different characteristics from other GISTs.

Pediatric GIST describes how gastrointestinal stromal tumors found in children and adolescents differ from those found in adults.

Carney Triad describes a very rare syndrome including GIST plus two other types of tumors, found mostly in young females.

Prognosis discusses how the size and pathology results of a tumor are used to predict the risk of recurrence after surgical removal of GIST cancer.

Further Reading and References includes additional bibliography plus the references cited in the preceding sections.