2014 GIST Summit 

GSI’s Sixth Annual GIST Summit was another tremendous success!  Held on Saturday, September 13, 2014 at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, the Summit was another excellent opportunity for patients and their family members and friends to learn more about GIST and to meet other patients.

The Summit was again chaired by Drs. Neeta Somaiah and Jonathan Trent, in partnership with GSI.  The program was stellar, with an impressive group of experts and a wide range of topics– scroll down for full details on the speakers, the agenda, the films and the power points.  In addition to learning from the speakers’ presentations, attendees had plenty of opportunity to interact with other GIST patients and family members, sharing stories of various experiences during their journeys with GIST. Through breakfast, lunch, dinner and coffee breaks, plus the break-out sessions, the Summit was truly a special day.

For those of you who couldn’t attend, some of the attendees also participated in the patient video filming and gave us short testimonials to help encourage us through life with GIST.  Also, if you couldn’t attend this year, you can mark your calendar for next year’s Summit which will be held on September 26, 2015, again at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.  Our free-of-charge Summit was sponsored through educational grants from Novartis Oncology, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, and Pfizer.  GSI expresses a special thanks to our sponsors as well as to our medical faculty!

 

Agenda for GIST Summit 2014

8:00 am	Breakfast and registration
9:00 am	Welcome Neeta Somaiah, M.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Sarcoma Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
9:05 am	Welcome from MD Anderson Cancer Center and Update on Moon Shots Dr. Ronald A. DePinho, M.D., President, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
9:20 am	Jonathan C. Trent, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Sarcoma Medical Research Program and Professor of Medicine, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Health System, Miami, FL	GIST 101:  Much to Learn About GIST
10:00 am	coffee
10:20 am	Robert S. Benjamin, M.D., P. H. and Fay E. Robinson, Distinguished Professor, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX	Reflections on GIST 15 Years after Imatinib View Slides
11:10 am	George D. Demetri, MD, Professor, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Director, Center for Sarcoma and Bone Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
12:20 noon	Lunch	Filming Patient Testimonials Poster Display – View Posters Visiting with Speakers and Pharmaceutical Representatives
1:45 pm	Alexander Lazar, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center  Selective (Soft Tissue) Pathology Fellowship Training Program, Houston, TX	GIST 201: The Pathology of GIST View Slides
2:15 pm	Workshops (Break-Out Sessions)	Conversations Change Lives: Difficult Conversations that Affect Patients and Caregivers—Susan Nelson, M.D., FACP, FAAHPM, LaPOST Coalition Chair, Baton Rouge, LA Caregivers 101: A Survival Guide—Esther Sachse, LVSW, Support Director; Cancer Services of Greater Baton Rouge, LA
3:15 pm	coffee break
3:45 pm	Danny Yakoub MD PhD on behalf of Alan Livingstone, MD., Chair of the Department of Surgery at UHealth, University of Miami Health System, FL	The Surgeon’s Role in Contemporary GIST Surgery—How Much is Enough? View Slides
4:30 pm	Ask the Experts Open Panel Chaired by Alexander Lazar, MD PhD and Neeta Somaiah, MD
5:30 pm	Closing Remarks and Adjourn to Dinner