GIST Support International - Glossary of Terms
| Definition |
| benign | Any condition which, untreated or with symptomatic therapy, will not become life-threatening. Benign tumors are not cancerous and do not invade surrounding tissues and do not spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body. Some benign tumors can, due to mass effect, cause life-threatening complications. Tumors may be benign but at risk for degeneration into malignancy. These are termed "premalignant". |
| Billroth | Two different types of partial gastrectomy (partial stomach removal) operations are called billroth I and billroth II. Here is a link showing diagrams of these surgeries. linkhere |
| biopsy | A diagnostic procedure in which a small amount of tissue or fluid is removed for examination under a microscope and testing by a pathologist to determine its characteristics and diagnose any disease present. In GIST this is a sample of tumor tissue and the pathologist tests it for cell markers including KIT to determine whether it is GIST or a different tumor type. Needle biopsies performed through the skin (percutaneous biopsies) or open biopsies through an incision are generally not recommended in GIST due to the possibility of spreading tumor cells. Please link to the Ask the Professional section of our website for a discussion of GIST biopsies by Dr. Christopher Corless http://www.gistsupport.org/needlebi opsy.html |
