Gastrointestinal stromal tumours: a series of 12 cases

Gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) is a soft tissue sarcomas arising from interstitial cell of Cajal of the gastrointestinal tract. Since its description in 1983, its management has seen sea change - from surgery to drug therapy, for CD 117 positive patients. Though it has an indolent course compared to adenocarcinoma, over the decades it has surprised surgeons with its varied presentation. We report a series of 12 cases of GIST. These were evaluated with respect to their age, gender, clinical presentation, histopathology grade, treatment offered & final outcome. There were 7 gastric, 1duodenal, 1 sigmoid, 1 rectal & 2 retroperitoneal GISTs. Resection was carried out for 8 GISTs, 1 was enucleated, 2 are on imatinib therapy & one is under observation. All operated patients had an uneventful post-operative recovery.