Anal GIST in older old patient: a case report

GIST are a group of quite rare neoplastic pathologies. This type of pathology is currently the subject of discussion as for their origin and treatment. It is generally difficult to determine if they are to be considered as a benign or malignant neoplastic disease. We present the case of a patient with recurrence of anal GIST who was examined 8 years after the first treatment.

C.M., female, 81 years old, came to our Clinic in March 2001 complaining of rectal haemorrhage and abdominal pain in the lower quadrants; she had also suffered from constipation for 1 month. During rectal exploration we found a mass spreading inside the lumen 3 cm from the anal verge. Colonoscopy showed that the tumour, which was 7 x 5 cm in size, was inside the wall with normal mucosa. EUS revealed that the origin was within the muscular layer; therefore we chose transanal excision as surgical treatment. The patient was discharged 5 days after surgery and is alive; she only showed a small local recurrence of disease 30 months after treatment. Histological examination confirmed that the tumour was a GIST This case provides the basis for a discussion about characteristics and the evolution of this group of pathologies.