TREATMENT
- Removal of the tumor is the primary treatment for GISTs. If your GIST is large or attached to other organs, the surgeon may remove parts of the affected organs.The surgeon may also remove small amounts of tissue outside your GIST to avoid tumor rupture and prevent future obstruction to your digestive tract. You may receive chemotherapy, targeted cell therapy or radiation therapy before surgery to reduce tumor size or after surgery to destroy any remaining cancer cells.
- Targeted therapy. Targeted therapy against an enzyme called tyrosine kinase treats your tumor by working against genetic changes that cause GISTs. Imatinib is the most common of these therapies.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. If your tumor is removed, your doctor may recommend targeted therapy to reduce the risk of recurrence.
- Radio frequency 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 GISTs such as pain.
