Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GIST)

Treatment

Mayo Clinic physicians use surgery, drugs (chemotherapy), targeted cell therapy, radiation and radiofrequency ablation to treat gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST).

• Surgery. Removal of the tumor is the primary treatment for GIST. Mayo Clinic surgeons remove small tumors through tiny incisions using laparoscopic surgery. If your GIST is large or attached to other organs, the surgeon may remove parts of the affected organs. The surgeon also may remove small amounts of tissue outside your GIST to avoid tumor rupture and prevent future obstruction to your digestive tract. You may receive chemotherapy or radiation before or after surgery to destroy any remaining cancer cells.
• Chemotherapy. In chemotherapy, you receive a combination of cancer-fighting drugs that attack tumors wherever they are in the body. However, standard chemotherapy for GIST isn't as effective as surgery, and newer targeted therapies are replacing chemotherapy.
• Targeted therapy. Targeted therapy treats your tumor by working against genetic changes that cause GIST. If your tumor is too large or invasive to be removed with surgery, your doctor may use targeted therapy to shrink the tumor enough to make surgery possible.
• Radiation. Doctors who treat cancer using radiation (radiation oncologists) at Mayo Clinic use high-energy external beam radiation treatment to destroy cancer cells. You may receive radiation in addition to surgery, before or after surgery or if your tumor can't be removed safely.
• Radiofrequency ablation (RFA). During RFA, your doctor inserts a thin needle guided by ultrasound or CT scan into your tumor and generates heat to destroy cancer cells. You may receive RFA if you have several tumors or liver tumors that can't be removed, or to relieve symptoms of GIST such as pain.

Follow-up care

Because GIST may recur after treatment, you'll visit your doctor every three to six months after treatment and, later, yearly. Follow-up care at Mayo Clinic includes imaging studies that allow your doctor to detect changes or tumors that may require further treatment.