Do GIST patients need to have blood work performed?

Charles D. Blanke, MD, FACP

Dr. Blanke says:

Patients on drug [Gleevec] needs labs monitored to look for liver and blood toxicity. I recommend weekly checks for one month, every 2-week checks for one month, monthly x 3, then every 6-12 weeks forever. Patients not on drug need blood checks roughly every three months, mostly looking for changes to prompt a work-up for recurrence (to include CT scans, PET, etc.).

About the author:

Dr. Charles Blanke is currently Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology and Director of the GI Malignancies Program of the OHSU Cancer Institute. Dr. Blanke received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Northwestern University. He completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the Gundersen Medical Foundation in La Crosse, Wisconsin. He then went on and completed a fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at Indiana University. Dr. Blanke is board certified in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology.

Dr. Blanke has published over 50 medical articles and abstracts in such journals as The New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Dr. Blanke has won numerous honors, including the Outstanding Faculty Apple Teaching Award, the American Cancer Society Fellowship, and the American College of Physicians Fellowship. He is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Gastroenterological Association, the American College of Physicians, and the American Medical Association.

Dr. Blanke also sits on the editorial board of the journal Colon & Rectal Cancer: Index and Reviews and is a media consultant for ABC News, the Today Show, and WebMD.