Is gastrointestinal stromal tumor inherited ?
Most cases of GIST are not inherited. Sporadic GIST is associated with somatic mutations, which are genetic changes that occur only in the tumor cells and occur during a person's lifetime.  In some cases of familial GIST, including those associated with mutations in the KIT and PDGFRA genes, mutations are inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern, which means one copy of the altered gene in each cell is sufficient to increase a person's chance of developing tumors.  When familial GIST is associated with mutations in other genes, it can have an autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance, which means alterations in both copies of the gene in each cell increase a person's chance of developing tumors.