Results of the Scandinavian Sarcoma Group (SSG 18) adjuvant imatinib (Gleevec/Glivec) trial in high risk GIST were presented on June 5, during the Plenary Session of the 2011 American Society of Clinical Oncology conference (ASCO). The Plenary or “all members’ session” highlights “abstracts deemed to have the highest merit and greatest impact on oncology research and practice”.

Life Raft Group Research Team member, Dr. Brian Rubin and Life Raft Group’s Development Director, Christine Schaumburg, visited Amsterdam in June to recognize the one year anniversary of the launch of Project D-Day with Jeroen Pit and his colleagues who, combined, raised $2.1 Million for the D-Day project in a matter of weeks.

GIST is a tricky disease. It’s important for patients to find the right doctor, one who understands the disease biology, treatment options and individualized treatment techniques like mutational and plasma testing. In most cases, we encourage our members to seek a GIST specialist. Recently, there have been a number of shifts in our close-knit GIST physician community and it’s making some people a little nervous.