The Life Raft Group is pleased to announce the release of the fourth issue of The GIST Cancer Journal, the official journal of the Life Raft Group and the first academic journal devoted solely to GIST. The journal is intended to serve as a comprehensive and authoritative resource of scientifically valid information for physicians and allied health care professionals regarding advances in the diagnosis and treatment of GIST. Editorial content focuses on the impact of translational research in oncology and gastroenterology relating specifically to GIST. As the official medical journal of the Life Raft Group, it also provides a forum for GIST patient advocacy. It is published quarterly.

The GIST Cancer Journal - Winter 2014

In this issue of the GIST Cancer Journal

This month’s articles highlight immunotherapy, epidemiology of GIST, and the managing of side effects in TKI treatment.

As Dr. Jonathan Trent, the editor of the GIST Cancer Journal states in his editor’s memo:

“Concepts like “designer T cells” and “chimeric antigen receptors” may soon be working their way into our lexicon, competing with earlier principles of therapy such as tyrosine kinase inhibition and anti-angiogenesis. Immunotherapy is in vogue but it has a long history. Its potential application in GIST, however, is just beginning to be realized and it is important to keep abreast of new information highlighted in the article, Immunotherapy Drives a Paradigm Shift Toward a New Model of Treatment, by Ronald DeMatteo, MD.

There is also an article by Jason K. Sicklick, MD, Reassessing Risk and Prognostic Factors in GIST as well as an interview with him on key trends in Epidemiology of GIST. You can also read the Epidemiology of GIST: Interview with Dr. Jason Sicklick from the Life Raft Group’s December Newsletter.

Please visit the Journal’s website to learn more about the journal and to read articles from the current issue. Print copies and article reprints can also be ordered via the website by contacting either liferaft@liferaftgroup.org.