Screening refers to tests and exams used to find a disease such as cancer in people who do not have any symptoms. The American Cancer Society has recommendations for screening tests to find several types of cancer as early as possible. But for rare tumors like GISTs, no effective screening tests have been found, and routine testing of people without any symptoms is not recommended.

GISTs may be found early by chance. Sometimes they are seen on an exam for another problem, such as during colonoscopy to look for colon cancer. Rarely, a GIST may be seen when an imaging test, such as a computed tomography scan (CT scan) or barium study, is performed for another reason.

GISTs may also be found incidentally (unexpectedly) during abdominal surgery for another problem.

Last Medical Review: 05/11/2009
Last Revised: 05/11/2009