Project FLAG is a research study, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, focused on learning more about GISTs (gastrointestinal stromal tumors) that may be hereditary. We know that, like all other forms of cancer, GISTs may rarely occur in more than one member of a family, but we don’t know how often GISTs may develop because of an inherited factor. Since only a small number of families with hereditary GIST have been described in the medical literature, not much is known about it. We hope that by looking at the family histories and genes of people with GIST, we will learn how often GISTs occur because of a genetic factor and how best to monitor for early GIST in individuals at high genetic risk.

Watch the video for more information about GIST and Project FLAG.

We hope to enroll about 800 individuals with GIST into Project FLAG. We will collect information about family cancer history and, if possible, a sample of DNA from blood or saliva, so that we can identify the frequency of hereditary GIST, and whether other cancers or conditions may be signs that a GIST may have occurred because of an inherited factor.

People who enroll in Project FLAG also have the option to be part of a registry of GIST families for future studies of familial GIST. Your participation in FLAG may help future individuals and families affected by GIST.

Who is eligible to enroll in FLAG?

If you have a diagnosis of GIST and are 18 years or older, you are eligible to enroll in Project FLAG.