Norman Scherzer’s Personal GIST survival plan. Norman puts his years of experience with GIST and his pro-active advocacy attitude into a personal survival plan. View all of the Life Fest 2014 videos [...]
In a recent article in the May 2015 edition of the European Journal of Cancer, Heikki Joensuu, one of the foremost authorities on adjuvant treatment for GIST, discussed how follow-up treatment is currently performed for [...]
The side effects of traditional chemotherapy treatments are often apparent, with images of bald patients with pain-etched faces captured in photographs. For targeted therapies such as those for GIST patients and other cancers that [...]
A recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Oncology found that the use of adjuvant systemic therapy with imatinib for GIST has increased significantly over time, and that patients treated with the therapy [...]
Some stomach GISTs smaller than 2 cm may pose more risk than previously thought according to a new report from China.
Our first Chicago GIST Day of Learning (GDOL) was a huge success! Over 50 GISTers and their families gathered for a great day of learning, and sharing experiences. It was wonderful to get to meet so many new people and reconnect with old friends.
For many years, wild-type GIST tumors were a mystery. In 2007, Barbara Pasini, J. Aidan Carney, Constantine Stratakis and colleagues identified the first mutations in pediatric GIST tumors in a protein called succinate dehydrogenase (SDH). Coding (instructions) for making the SDH protein is contained in four subunits (genes), SDHA, SDHB, SHDC and SDHD. The group, led by Constantine Stratakis, initially reported mutations in three of the four subunits; SDHB, SHDC and SDHD. SHDA remained a mystery.
Co-Existing Conditions Co-existing conditions are medical illnesses or problematic conditions that a person has along with cancer, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or depression. These conditions often influence how a person responds to treatment, [...]
Recently, the Life Raft Group began work on a survey project sponsored by Novartis Pharmaceuticals designed to assess knowledge and practices among patients and physicians regarding mutational analysis and plasma level testing.
Only six percent of GIST patients in the United States take advantage of testing that could be used to individualize their treatment according to a new article in the Annals of Oncology. Dr. Peter Pisters of MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas and his colleagues reported results of the GIST reGISTry, a Novartis Pharmaceuticals-supported registry of 882 GIST patients in the United States.
