The Pediatric and wildtype GIST clinic at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is a collaborative effort between clinicians, research scientists and advocates, who share the goal of helping young patients with Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor.

Our mission:

1. Bring together all patients with Pediatric or wildtype GIST with expert health care providers in the field
2. Utilize the resources of the NIH to bridge shortcomings in basic and clinical research
3. Provide storage of tumor samples, that can then be accessed by researchers throughout the world
4. Disseminate new information in the field of Pediatric and wildtype GIST
5. Develop innovative treatment protocols

As the first step towards achieving these goals, we have established the Consortium for Pediatric and wildtype GIST Research (CPGR), a diverse group of people who are dedicated to the above mission.

It is our commitment to describe complicated issues in language that is clear, precise, but most importantly, simple, so that any adult or adolescent can readily understand every page of this website. We realize that the difficulty of reading scientific articles is similar to that of reading in a foreign language. The lack of familiarity with medical and scientific terms, sometimes make simple concepts, extremely difficult. Dissemination of scientific information will always remain our top priority, but presenting it in understandable language will also be one of our main concerns.

In the next year, this website will have the capability to house confidential patient information. This will allow us to access patient medical records, radiographic imaging studies, pathology slides and other information from patients across the United States and the world. Patients and their physicians will have access to this portion of the website, but to their materials only. CPGR members will have access to all of the clinical information. This section will also contain a summary of the information presented on this website, specifically for healthcare professionals.