The Life Raft Group is excited to announce that we will be partnering with the National Institutes of Health to launch the first Pediatric GIST Virtual Tumor Board!*

Due to severe funding cuts that reduced the in-person meetings of the NIH Pediatric & Wildtype GIST clinic to once per year, the Virtual Tumor Board aims to help supplement this loss.

The process would be an augmentation of how virtual tumor review boards work. If selected, doctors of GIST patients would be able to log on and review their de-identified patient case with a panel of experts by using the internet, secure severs, and video conferencing software.

The purpose of the Pediatric GIST Virtual Tumor Board is to bring together leading experts to discuss pediatric/wild-type GIST cases, while serving as an educational resource for local physicians.  The Board also provides valuable access for patients and doctors who would ordinarily not be able to attend an in-person clinic due to resources or distance. The Virtual Tumor Board would not only inform the local doctors of the most up-to-date treatment options, trials, and studies, it would also encourage a collaborative effort of GIST experts from around the world, thus ensuring the best care is offered to these patients.

The LRG will use cutting-edge technology to connect the local treating physicians and their team with key opinion leaders in the field of Pediatric GIST. Participants will virtually access radiology films such as CT scans and other necessary medical reports to help review the particular case and provide advice. The objective is to help improve patient outcomes by connecting local treating physicians with leading GIST experts.

The first Pediatric GIST Virtual Tumor Board will take place on June 27th from 2:00-3:30 pm.

If you would like your case reviewed by a team of experts, please have your physician contact us at srothschild@liferaftgroup.org or 973-837-9092 ext 118  and we will provide him with the application to get started, or you can download the form HERE and provide it to your physician.

The application deadline is May 1, 2014.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Sara Rothschild at srothschild@liferaftgroup.org or 973-837-9092 ext 118.

*Note: Due to the change in definitions for this subtype of GIST cancer, we will refer to the term “Pediatric GIST”. Please note that pediatric-like tumors are now being classified as SDH-deficient GIST. Anyone who fits this classification is welcome to have their case reviewed.