UCI – Das Tumorzentrum Bern - Navigation

• high-quality and holistic care and treatment of GIST patients according to international standards
• an interdisciplinary team of GIST experts from a wide range of disciplines (surgery, gastroenterology, oncology, radiation therapy, radiology, pathology, etc.)
• weekly tumor boards where the experts discuss the patients and work together to develop a therapy recommendation
• local proximity of all specialist departments involved on the Inselspital area

The diagnosis of a GIST can only be made through a combination of tests. The first sign of a GIST is often non-specific symptoms (e.g. feeling of fullness, abdominal discomfort, increased abdominal circumference). In up to 30 percent of patients, GISTs are found accidentally during a colonoscopy.

If a GIST is suspected, a gastrointestinal colonoscopy and a computer tomography are often carried out after a careful recording of the medical history and a complete physical examination. A biopsy of the tumor is usually carried out to confirm the diagnosis.

During a biopsy, tissue from the tumor is removed, processed and finally examined by pathology. The precise diagnosis is the basis for the following treatment recommendations.

The aim of the tumor board is to discuss GIST patients in an interdisciplinary manner and to plan further treatment steps.

Our tumor board is primarily made up of the following specialists from various clinics: visceral surgery, gastroenterology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, radiology and pathology.

All experts involved in the tumor board have several years of experience in the field of GIST treatment and regularly undergo further training in their field.

The treatment of GIST tumors is complex and requires the collaboration of various medical disciplines (surgery, gastroenterology, oncology, radiation therapy, radiology, etc.). In order to optimally treat GIST disease, surgical and medical treatments are primarily used.

As a GIST center, we can offer you the entire spectrum of GIST diagnostics and therapy from a single source. Our range of therapies is also rounded off with the option of taking part in studies.

Surgical therapy

The treatment of choice is surgical tumor removal. The success of an operation depends heavily on the size and location of the tumor.

If complete tumor removal seems questionable due to the size or location of the tumor, it should first be clarified whether preventative therapy with imatinib can be carried out to shrink the tumor. The knowledge is gained from a mutation analysis of the tumor tissue. Depending on the type of tumor, prior therapy makes sense.

Medical therapy

A GIST can be treated with medication. Therapy can be used neoadjuvantly (before surgery), adjuvantly (after surgery) or palliatively (to relieve symptoms).

Before surgical tumor removal, the therapy aims to shrink the tumor and thus simplify the subsequent operation. After a tumor has been surgically removed, the aim of therapy is to kill the residual tumor cells that may still be in the body and are not visible to the eye, thereby reducing the risk of recurrence.

Drug therapy uses substances that act as specifically as possible on specific cancer cells and kill them or inhibit their growth. Depending on the type of GIST, drug therapy may be an option. If the tumor disease is already advanced or the primary tumor is inoperable, the focus is on maintaining quality of life and extending survival through drug therapy.

Local treatment procedures

For symptomatic GISTs, additional local treatment procedures can be discussed. For example, operations, radiofrequency ablation (RFA), microwave ablation (MWA), transarterial embolization (TAE) and/or selective internal radiotherapy (SIRT) can be considered as therapeutic methods. The selection of suitable patients can only take place through interdisciplinary discussion.

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With our experience and our interdisciplinary knowledge, we would like to accompany you on your journey. To support you, we offer you professional help in psychological, social and physical terms.

For these purposes, the GIST Center is supported by, among others, complementary medicine, physiotherapy, the palliative team, psycho-oncology, pastoral care and social services. The following links will take you to the websites of our treatment partners:

Institut für Komplementärmedizin (IKOM)

Institut für Physiotherapie

Psychoonkologie, Universitätsklinik für medizinische Onkologie

Seelsorge

Sozialberatung

Universitäres Zentrum für Palliative Care

Universitätsklinik für Anästhesiologie und Schmerztherapie