GIST Support International - Glossary of Terms
| Definition |
| occult bleeding | Concealed from observation. Occult blood is hidden from the eye but is nonetheless present and can be detected by chemical tests. For example, bleeding from a tumor into the gastrointestinal tract can be detected by testing a stool sample. If there is enough blood loss, the stool will appear black. |
| omentum | The greater omentum is a part of the peritoneum attached to the greater curvature of the stomach and hanging down over the intestines. The lesser omentum is a part of the peritoneum attached to the liver and to the lesser curvature of the stomach. GIST can occur in the omentum rarely as the primary tumor site. GIST may also metastacize to the omentum. |
| oncogene | An oncogene is a mutated gene that can cause cancer. A normal gene with cancerous potential is called a proto-oncogene. After mutation, the oncogene can continuously simulate unregulated cell proliferation, leading to a tumor. With respect to GIST, mutant KIT or mutant PDGFR are oncogenes. |
