Novartis partners with NKTI to enhance mg't of gastrointestinal stromal tumor

MANILA, Philippines - Research-based health care company Novartis has partnered with the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) to enhance the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) in the country.

Novartis and NKTI officials signed recently the memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the GIST Alliance Philippines program at the Sulo Hotel in Quezon City.

GIST is a type of cancer that can start anywhere in the gastrointestinal tract, although it occurs most often in the stomach (50 to 70 percent) or the small intestine (20 to 30 percent). The rest are found in the esophagus, large intestine (colon and rectum), and anus.

GIST is difficult to diagnose because it does not cause any symptoms in its early stages. In later stages, the most common symptoms are vague abdominal pain, early feeling of fullness (satiety), vomiting, blood in stool or vomit, and fatigue due to anemia.

However, these symptoms may also be an indicator of a wide range of other less serious conditions. People who experience any of these symptoms should consult their doctor.

“The GIST Alliance Philippines is a distinctive, integrated program. It involves a two-pronged approach that caters to both GIST patients and the physicians that care for them,” said Dr. Marife Mararang, Novartis Oncology Alliance coordinator.

The program provides access to educational information to help patients better understand GIST, its causes, diagnosis and management as well as the critical importance of adherence to GIST treatment.

It also provides patients with a one-time special diagnostic test for KIT/CD117, the enzyme thought to be responsible for most GIST cases.

On the other hand, the program provides physicians with access to up-to-date scientific information on GIST diagnosis, response evaluation, risk stratification, multi-disciplinary approaches and treatment options as well as the latest clinical trial results.

To promote continuing medical education (CME), a core group of experts will conduct scientific fora on GIST management every three months in partner-hospitals.

“By enhancing physicians’ diagnostic and management skills and promoting patient awareness, the GIST Alliance Philippines program will help improve GIST management in the country,” said Dr. Ernesto Que, chairman of NKTI’s Department of Internal Medicine.

“We welcome this partnership with Novartis as the GIST Alliance Philippines program will promote patient awareness, early diagnosis and prompt treatment of GIST,” said Dr. Januario Antonio Veloso, chairman of NKTI’s Department of Laboratory Medicine.

“We are committed to developing and delivering a comprehensive treatment strategy to KIT-positive GIST Filipino patients,” said Maria Amelia Palo, Oncology Business Unit head of Novartis Healthcare Philippines.

Novartis Oncology is the global leader in KIT-positive GIST therapy.

While surgery is the standard treatment for primary resectable (operable) GIST, it is seldom curative. By five years after complete removal of their tumor, half of patients who undergo surgery have relapsed.

Novartis developed and markets imatinib, the first-line treatment in patients with metastatic (spreading) or unresectable (non-operable) GIST.

Imatinib is well tolerated and results in durable objective response or stable disease in approximately 85 percent of patients with advanced GIST.