Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor And Family History

A member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Sabha Ganai MD is a gastrointestinal surgical oncologist at Sanford Health. Dr Sabha Ganai is experienced in minimally invasive surgery and has treated gastrointestinal stromal tumors and disorders of the parathyroid and thyroid glands.

A type of tumor that often affects adults between 40 and 70 years old, gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is characterized by abnormal overgrowth in any tissue along the gastrointestinal tract. Often, the tumors are found in the stomach or small intestine, and they can be malignant (able to spread to other parts of the body) or benign (remain in place). At the early stage (when the tumor is small), GIST cause no symptoms. With time, however, a person with GIST may experience weight loss, nausea, swelling, or pain in the abdomen, nausea, and loss of appetite. In some cases, the tumor may result in internal bleeding (causing black stool or blood vomit), which can cause low RBC counts (anemia) and associated fatigue.

Often, when GIST occurs in a person with no family history of the disease, only one tumor is seen. This is called sporadic GIST. In people with a family history of GIST, however, multiple tumors are often seen along with hyperplasia (non-cancerous overgrowth) of many cells along the gastrointestinal tract.

Author: drsabhaganai

A physician with a special interest in surgical ethics, Dr. Sabha Ganai recently became a senior ethics fellow with the University of Chicago MacLean Center of Clinical Medical Ethics. Her history with the MacLean Center goes back to 2013 when she underwent her fellowship in clinical medical ethics at the institution. Dr. Sabha Ganai has authored book chapters on complex ethical issues such as informed consent and has over 50 publications. View all posts by drsabhaganai