High-risk GI cancer prevention

The University of Kansas Cancer Center’s high-risk gastrointestinal (GI) prevention clinic is one of the largest high-risk GI cancer programs in the country. Your doctor may refer you to our clinic if you have a strong family history of certain cancers or a diagnosed syndrome that can raise your risk of GI cancer. Once referred, our multidisciplinary team of experts will come together to create an individualized care plan for you.

Our high-risk GI cancer prevention clinic cares for patients at increased risk for GI cancer, whether it be familial history or a genetic predisposition for developing the disease. The goal? Prevent cancer before it happens.

The high-risk cancer prevention clinic is made up of skilled medical experts from across disciplines who come together as a team to assess your personal risk and create a plan to best support your GI health. Through the program, your GI cancer risk is reduced due to the multidisciplinary team approach, the latest healthcare technology and the most-current research.

Designed for patients with a high likelihood of developing GI cancer, this program is accessible through referral only. Your primary care physician or other medical provider may refer you if you have been diagnosed with or have a family history of: 

Working together with your current healthcare providers, we will take a close look at your healthcare needs. Your team will develop a tailor-made prevention plan based on your profile. Depending on your plan, you may have access to: 

• Clinical trials 
• Feedback from medical experts across the nation 
• Medical providers across specialties 
• Specific syndrome clinics

Your care team will continue to monitor and follow your progress and make revisions to your prevention plan, as needed.

Clinical trials

As part of an academic medical center, physicians at the cancer center not only have access to but are often conducting the latest research in cancer care. Our GI high-risk cancer care program takes part in 2 national cancer prevention consortiums with access to clinical trials.

Clinical trials are critical to the cancer center’s mission to conquer all cancers. These are scientific studies that lead to new ways to prevent, detect or treat cancer. Nearly all cancer treatments used today were studied and made available to patients through clinical trials.

The goal of our program is to prevent GI cancer in high-risk individuals. Syndrome-specific surveillance is integral to our disease-free goal. As our patient, you will receive your own tailor-made surveillance strategy. This strategy allows your team to decide what type of and how often you should receive screening. We will work together with your primary care physician or referring provider to ensure continuity of care throughout the process. If cancer is detected, your surveillance plan will help us catch it early when it is most treatable.

Screening can include but is not limited to: 

• Lab work, such as blood draws 
• CT or CAT scan 
• Colonoscopy
• Endoscopic ultrasound 
• Endoscopy
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Your prevention journey starts with an assessment and individualized prevention plan. This plan is developed by a multidisciplinary care team with detailed knowledge of your diagnosis and health history. As part of the prevention plan, you will have your own surveillance strategy that will include what type and how often you should receive screenings. Monitoring will help us catch any signs of disease early on, when it is most treatable.

Each person is unique, so we tailor your GI cancer prevention plan to your personal needs. This means doctors, nurses and other team members work closely together to develop a prevention plan that best suit your needs. In addition to a skilled multidisciplinary team, we have the technology and techniques that allow us to best take care of you on your individual prevention path. Maybe most important, we will discuss your plan as a team to stay up to date on your care and progress.

We are the region’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and 1 of fewer than 60 nationwide to earn the distinction. NCI-designated cancer centers save more lives, as men and women treated at NCI-designated cancer centers have a 25% greater chance of survival than those at other centers.