[Epithelioid leiomyoma of the gastrointestinal tract]

This paper presents an analysis of 35 GI epithelioid leiomyomas (leiomyoblastoma) including the authors' own 6 cases from 1975 to the end of 1987. Tumors were found in the stomach in 21 cases (60%), in the duodenum in 4 (11.2%), in the jejunum in 7 (19.8%), and in the ileum in 3 (8.5%). The male to female ratio was 1:1.2 ranging in ages from 11 to 68 with an average of 42. Of these, 82.8% were benign and 17.2% were malignant. No case was correctly diagnosed before the operation. Tumors were resected in 97.2% of the patients. In the author's opinion there should be two basic types of the tumor: benign and malignant, though the identification is often quite difficult. The mitosis, the size of primary tumor, the metastasis and recurrence of the tumor should all come into the consideration. Surgical resection of the tumor is the only effective treatment and all tumors should be treated as malignant.