The Characterization of GIST: What Patients Should Know

Although gastrointestinal stomal tumors (GIST) can be identified and diagnosed during an endoscopy, according to Dr. Rosario Ligresti, these are still rare tumors that warrant further characterization.

“It's not a common tumor, but it's common enough that [we can find them, and] patients will find it if they get an endoscopy,” Ligresti, the chief of Gastroenterology and Interventional Endoscopy at Hackensack Meridian Health, said in an interview with CURE.

In the interview, he explained how GIST differs from other types of cancers patients may have heard of and highlights what patients should know.

Transcript

What exactly is GIST? How does it differ from other types of cancers patients might have heard of?

It's not a common tumor, but it's common enough that [we can find them, and] patients will find it if they get an endoscopy. Oftentimes, the first question patients ask is whether the tumor that the doctor found, which was considered a GIST, is malignant. That's really where things get [tricky] because GISTs fall into a kind of a weird place on the neoplastic or cancer spectrum.

They are not common tumors; they are tumors of the supporting structure of the gastrointestinal tract, kind of like the scaffolding. And again, they are, by and large, benign entities, but they certainly have significant malignant potential. So when we see them, and we see them often enough in patients because they are often found as lumps and bumps during an endoscopy, further characterization is definitely warranted.

As a whole, GISTs are a small percentage of all gastrointestinal neoplasms, probably only 1% to 2% percent of all GI tumors, and there are likely only about 6,000 cases reported in the United States every year. So, it's an uncommon tumor, but it's common enough, as I said, in the population that gets endoscopies.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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