Sarcoma and gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST)

Sarcomas are highly variable malignant tumours that originate in the conjunctive tissue, which holds together all organs and tissues, meaning that a sarcoma can occur anywhere in the body.

Through multidisciplinary team meetings on sarcomas, the Eugène Marquis Centre has developed a specialist treatment strategy for these rare tumours.

Treatment is provided at the Centre by an expert multidisciplinary team, which allows for rapid diagnosis, multimodal treatment specific to each of the 100+ known sub-types of sarcoma (including sarcomas, gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST), desmoid tumours and fibrous tumours) and personalised care plans.

Doctors from both establishments attend weekly multidisciplinary team meetings, during which they make joint treatment decisions and design personalised care programmes for each patient.

A biopsy is carried out to confirm the diagnosis and help decide how to treat the sarcoma. A biopsy involves the removal of a sufficiently large tissue sample from the tumour, which undergoes anatomopathological examination to, among other things, determine whether it is malignant, confirm that it originated in the conjunctiva and decide the best surgical approach.

Based on this information, and after the case has been discussed at the multidisciplinary team meeting, the doctor will suggest the most appropriate form of treatment: chemotherapy, surgery or radiotherapy.

Learn more on the official website of INCa, the French National Cancer Institute (summary version available in English)