Search results
People also ask
What is the survival rate for gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST)?
How long do gastrointestinal stromal tumors last?
How big are gastrointestinal stromal tumors?
What is a 5-year relative survival rate? A relative survival rate compares people with the same type and stage of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) to people in the overall population.
Doctors also use a cancer's stage when talking about survival statistics. The stages for gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) range from I (1) through IV (4). As a rule, the lower the number, the less the cancer has spread. A higher number, such as stage IV, means cancer has spread more.
- Overview
- GIST tumor survival rate
- Outlook
- Is GIST curable?
- Breakthrough treatments
- The takeaway
•Early stage GIST may be curable, but there is a risk of recurrence.
•The overall relative 5-year survival rate for GIST is 83 percent, but this varies by stage and other factors.
•Newer therapies offer a more personalized approach to treatment, which may affect people’s outlook.
Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is a type of cancer that starts in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
The outlook for people with GIST, including survival rates, vary person to person. A lot depends on the cancer’s stage at diagnosis and how quickly cancer cells are growing and dividing.
A new generation of targeted therapies appears to be improving the overall outlook for people with GIST.
Survival rates are a snapshot in time. These statistics are gathered from people who received their diagnosis and treatment at least 5 years in the past.
Relative survival rate is how likely a person with GIST is to survive over a given time period compared with the general population.
The overall relative 5-year survival rate for GIST is 83 percent. This figure is based on people who received their diagnosis between 2010 and 2016.
By stage, this breaks down as:
•Localized (cancer remains in the organ where it started): 93 percent
•Regional spread (cancer is found in nearby tissues): 80 percent
Survival statistics provide a broad overview. They can’t tell you what any one person’s outlook will be.
Your doctor will be able to give you a better idea of what to expect. Besides GIST stage at diagnosis, your doctor will take into account:
•the size and location of the primary tumor
•whether surgery can safely remove tumors
•the rate at which cancer cells are reproducing (mitotic rate)
•your age and coexisting health conditions
GIST may be curable if there is one early stage tumor that can be surgically removed without damaging vital organs. This can sometimes be done with minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery.
Some people make a full recovery without needing further treatment. Cases of GIST with tumors that are smaller than 2 centimeters (cm) are most likely to be cured with surgery alone.
Tumors that are larger than 2 cm are more likely to recur. Tumors that are 10 cm in size or larger are very likely to recur.
Even if your doctor says you’re cancer-free or cured, you’ll still need regular follow-up tests to monitor for recurrence.
Some tumors can’t be surgically removed. It might be because they’re too large or have invaded a sizeable part of a nearby organ, or because they’ve metastasized (spread) to other parts of the body.
The cancer is still treatable. Targeted drugs used to treat GIST are called tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). These therapies can help shrink tumors, slow the spread of cancer, and relieve symptoms.
The outlook for people with GIST varies. Due to evolving therapies, people diagnosed within the last several years have more treatment options than ever.
TKIs are paving the way for a more personalized approach to treatment. These drugs target specific genetic mutations that are responsible for GIST. They may improve a person’s survival rate and outlook.
Breakthrough TKIs include:
•Imatinib mesylate (Gleevec). This selective inhibitor targets KIT and PDGFRA gene mutations, which are found in 80 percent of all people with GIST. This is a first-line therapy that stabilizes or shrinks tumors in most cases. If there’s no response or it stops working, sunitinib (Sutent) then regorafenib (Stivarga) can be tried next.
•Avapritinib (Ayvakit). One of the newer therapies for metastatic disease, this drug is an option when there’s a rare exon 18 mutation in the PDGFRA gene. This type of cancer does not respond to other standard GIST therapies.
•Ripretinib (Qinlock). This new targeted therapy was approved in 2020 for advanced GIST that’s resistant to treatment with imatinib, sunitinib, and regorafenib. In phase 3 trials, ripretinib significantly improved median progression-free survival over placebo.
GIST is a type of tumor that starts in the gastrointestinal tract. The outlook for people with GIST depends on many factors, such as stage, mitotic rate, and overall health.
Surgery can remove some tumors and lead to a full recovery. Several new therapies can treat tumors that can’t be removed or treat cancer that has spread.
The outlook people with GIST is improving with the introduction of new drugs for treatment-resistant tumors.
Your doctor can review your medical history to give you a better idea of your own general outlook and what you can expect from treatment.
- Ann Pietrangelo
Apr 15, 2024 · What’s the survival rate for someone with GIST? Survival rates vary depending on tumor size and activity at the time of diagnosis, your overall health and the tumor’s response to treatment. Overall, data from the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) show that 85% of people with GIST were alive five years after diagnosis.
The 5-year relative survival rate for localized GISTs (tumors that have not spread beyond the site where they originally formed) is 93%. The 5-year survival rate for GISTs that have spread to distant parts of the body is 55%.
- 065208055
Sep 26, 2022 · Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, accounting for 80% of all such GI tumors, and 0.1 to 3% of all gastrointestinal malignancies.[1] Approximately 30% of GISTs are malignant.[2]
Jul 26, 2023 · Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are growths that form in the digestive tract. The overall GIST survival rate for 5 years is 85%. However, this rate cannot predict the survival of...
