Gastrointestinal stromal tumor epidemiology and demographics

Epidemiology
GISTs occur in 10-20 per one million people; one out of 3-4 is malignant. The true incidence might be higher, as novel laboratory methods are much more sensitive in diagosing GISTs. In all, there are approximately 3000-3500 cases of GIST per year in the United States. This makes GIST the most common form of sarcoma, which constitutes more than 70 types of cancer, but in all forms constitutes less than 1% of all cancer.