Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor
by: The Life Raft Group
Total views: 238
Word Count: 596
Cells in our body follow a routine of growth, division and death, with new cells replacing old and damaged cells. Sometimes this orderly, natural process goes wrong due to damage to the DNA. GIST and other cancers are a result of DNA damage. Damaged cells try and repair the affected DNA, but if the repair process fails, the cells undergo apoptosis or programmed cell death. If the cells don’t die as a result of apoptosis, they begin to grow and proliferate, forming mass of cells or tumors.
GIST or Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor, is an extremely dangerous form of cancer. The GIST cancer is rare, and affects the digestive tract or nearby structures within the abdomen. The GIST tumor grows from cells of the body’s connective or supportive tissues such as bone, cartilage, tendons, nerves, fat, muscle, tissue around joints, or blood vessels.
GIST disease arises in the gastrointestinal tract wall.
Tumors resulting from GIST generally attach to the outside of the involved organ. However, GIST can occasionally grow inward through the muscle layer of the wall, resulting in a tumor inside the digestive tract.
GIST tumors might grow anywhere along the gastrointestinal tract from the esophagus to the anus. Most frequently, GISTs occur in the stomach. In order of frequency, the next affect areas are the duodenum, small intestine, esophagus, rectum and colon. GIST may also develop in the supporting membranes of the abdominal organs, the liver, the pancreas, the ovaries, the uterus, and the prostate, although these types of tumors are less common. It may also mestastasize then spread to other rare locations like lymph nodes, lung and bone tissue, ovaries and breast and muscle tissue.
While lifestyle, diet, environmental and behavioral risk factors cause many other types of cancer, GIST cancer appears to be the result of random genetic mutations. GIST tumors most commonly affect a single, random individual. However, there are rare examples of GIST running in families due to an inheritable germ-line mutation.
GIST most commonly affects those over age of 50 years. Children are rarely affected. Familial GIST develops in younger or middle-aged adults. GIST is found in populations around the world, but there is no good information about whether its incidence is more common in certain racial or ethnic groups.
Gleevec or Imatinib is a drug which is used in the treatment of GIST as it helps in killing the cancerous cells. There are many Gleevec side effects like bone pain, ache in your jaw bones, facial swelling, muscle cramps, rash, diarrhea, de-pigmentation, eye bleeds, hair loss, fatigue, weight gain, fluid retention, and more.
The levels of medicines like Dilantin and Tegretol in the blood can be increased by Gleevec. Drugs that increase the amount of Gleevec in your blood levels include ketoconazole, itraconazole, erythromycin, and clarithromycin. Drugs that decrease the level of Gleevec include dexamethasone, phenytoin, carbamazepine, rifampicin, phenobarbital or St. John’s Wort.
There are many GIST support groups or organizations that undertake cutting-edge projects that studying GIST tissues and promote the sharing of tissue as well as the sharing of the data generated from the studies of this tissue.
GIST is like any other type of cancer, in that it is just a word and not a death sentence. Remaining positive and hopeful is the best medicine for every cancer. Choose hope and challenge the cancer, live a productive life and you will see that anything’s possible. That is the gist of it all.
About the Author
The Life Raft Group is author of this article on Gist. Find more information about Gist cancer here.
Rating: Not yet rated
Login to vote