Gastrointestinal stromal tumor of the duodenum: a case report

The report describes a malignant gastrointestinal stromal tumor occurring in the duodenum in a 71-year-old woman. The neoplasm showed both epithelioid and spindle cell patterns by light microscopy. The ultrastructural features were diagnostic of nerve sheath origin. The tumor had numerous wrapping processes joined by junctions and surrounded by axons. No features of smooth muscle differentiation were identified. Immunocytochemistry was inconclusive. The differential diagnosis of such neoplasms is discussed.