Gastrointestinal stromal tumor of the rectum: an analysis of seven cases

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) rarely originate in the rectum. We investigated the clinicopathologic characteristics of rectal GISTs.

We analyzed the medical records of seven patients who underwent surgery for GIST of the rectum between 1998 and 2003.

There were two men and five women with a median age of 55 years (range, 41-72 years) at the time of diagnosis. The median follow-up period was 23 months (range, 7-75 months). The chief symptoms were hematochezia, constipation, and anal pain. All patients underwent curative resection; in the form of abdominoperineal resection in five patients, transanal excision in one, and Hartmann's operation with prostatectomy in one. The median tumor size was 6.6 cm (range, 1-12 cm). Four patients received adjuvant radiation therapy. Local recurrence developed in two patients; 54 months and 23 months after surgery, respectively.

The common symptoms of rectal GIST were the same as those of other rectal tumors. Curative surgical resection should be done, but further studies are necessary to investigate better adjuvant treatment strategies for patients with rectal GISTs.