The GIST Group Switzerland, the support group for patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), has awarded its science prize for the twelfth time. The 2021 GIST prize, worth CHF 10,000, was awarded to Dr. Susanne Grunewald for her publication on:

“Resistance to Avapritinib in PDGFRA-Driven GIST Is Caused by Secondary Mutations in the PDGFRA Kinase Domain”

Published in Cancer Discov, 2021. 11(1): p. 108-125.

The laudatio was held by Prof. Dr. Richard Herrmann, Basel, member of the GIST Group Award Committee.

The award ceremony took place on November 18, 2021 at the "SAKK Award Ceremony" during the Swiss Oncology & Hematology Congress (SOHC) 2021. 

GISTs are very rare cancers of the gastrointestinal tract that are classified as sarcomas, a group of malignant tumors that affect connective tissue, bone and muscle. They occur in 10-15 people per one million population per year. SAKK, a non-profit organization, also conducts studies on such rare forms of cancer.