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Mark McGowen
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STOMACH - GIST CANCER


Overview


The stomach is a muscular sack like organ that receives and stores food from the oesophagus. The stomach mashes food into a thick liquid with the help of gastric juices which are released from glands in the mucosa, the innermost layers of the stomach. Once the food is broken down, it is passed from the stomach to the small bowel, where nutrients begin to be absorbed into the bloodstream.

Most stomach cancers develop in cells that line the mucosa and are called adenocarcinoma of the stomach. Other less common types of stomach cancer include:
  • lymphoma: cancer of lymphatic tissue
  • gastric stromal tumours: cancer of muscle or connective tissue
  • carcinoid tumours: cancer of hormone-producing cells.
Stomach cancer (also known as gastric cancer) develops slowly. It may develop for many years before any symptoms are felt.

Stomach cancer can grow through the stomach’s layers and into organs near the stomach—like the liver, pancreas or colon—or spread via the lymphatic system or the bloodstream to other parts of the body. The cancer can also grow along the stomach wall into the oesophagus or small bowel, or spread into the abdominal cavity.

Statistics


Although stomach cancer is on the decline in Australia, it still affects a significant number of people with around 2000 Australians being diagnosed each year.

The incidence of stomach cancer is higher in less developed countries, which may be due to poor diet and inadequate sanitation. In 2001 almost half a million people died of stomach cancer around the globe.

What we are doing to improve treatments


We are conducting four clinical trials to test new combinations of chemotherapy for stomach (GIST) cancer, and working to initiate a new trial. These trials are:
  1. TOP GEAR – Designed to determine whether chemo-radiotherapy is better than chemotherapy alone in treatment given to people with resectable gastric cancer prior to surgery

  2. SURGIST – In patients with advanced GIST that have been treated with Glivec®, to assess whether surgery to remove any remaining tumour improves outcomes compared to no surgery

  3. REGISTER – To evaluate the optimal dose of treatment for patients with advanced GIST according to the tumours biological characteristics

  4. Adjuvant GIST – A clinical trial for people with early-stage Gastro-Intestinal Stromal Tumours (GIST)

  5. Advanced GIST – Comparing treatment doses for people with advanced stage GIST.