A gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is a rare cancer in the digestive system. It often happens in the stomach.
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The cause is not well understood. Many people with a GIST have a defect in a certain gene. The gene is active when it should not be. This allows cells to grow and divide without order. This may explain why a GIST forms.
This problem is more common in people who are over 50 years of age. Other things that may raise the risk are:
Problems may be:
The doctor will ask about your symptoms and health history. This may be enough to suspect the diagnosis.
Images may be taken. This can be done with:
A sample of the tumor will be taken to confirm the diagnosis. This can be done with a fine-needle biopsy.
Genetic tests may also be done. This can be done with blood tests.
Treatment will depend on the size of the tumor and whether it has spread. Options are:
American Cancer Society
https://www.cancer.org
American College of Gastroenterology
https://gi.org/patients
Canadian Association of Gastroenterology
https://www.cag-acg.org
Canadian Cancer Society
https://www.cancer.ca
Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: https://www.dynamed.com/condition/gastrointestinal-stromal-tumor-gist. Accessed August 16, 2021.
What are gastrointestinal stromal tumors? American Cancer Society website. Available at: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/gastrointestinal-stromal-tumor/about/what-is-gist.html. Accessed August 16, 2021.
Last reviewed July 2021 by EBSCO Medical Review Board James Cornell, MD