Pediatric GIST specialists

Because pediatric GIST is so rare, there are few true Pediatric GIST specialists. In June, 2008, the first gathering of pediatric GIST experts occurred at the first National Institutes of Health (NIH) Pediatric GIST clinic. The specialists included national leaders in the field of GIST and Pediatric GIST. This included geneticists, medical oncologists, pediatric oncologists, pediatric surgeons, pathologists and endocrinologists.

	Dr. Cristina Antonescu	Pathologist Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
	Dr. J. Aidan Carney (retired)	Pathologist Mayo Clinic
	Dr. George Demetri	Medical Oncologist Dana Farber Cancer Institute
	Dr. Lee Helman	Pediatric Oncologist, head of the Molecular Oncology Section National Cancer Institute
	Dr. Katherine Janeway	Pediatric Oncologist Dana Farber Cancer Institute
	Dr. Su Young Kim	Pediatric Oncologist National Cancer Institute
	Dr. Michael LaQuaglia	Pediatric Surgeon Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
	Dr. Alberto Pappo	Pediatric Oncologist St. Jude's Hospital
	Dr. Constantine Stratakis	Pediatric Endocrinologist and Geneticist National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
	Dr. Jonathan Trent	Medical Oncologist Assistant Professor M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
	Dr. Margaret von Mehren	Medical Oncologist Director, Sarcoma Program Fox Chase Cancer Center

For local treatment, it is important to find doctors experienced in GIST. This experience comes in two basic types; experts in pediatric cancers and experts in adult GIST cancer. Both have unique perspectives and experiences. The best approach might be when doctors from both fields collaborate with each other.