A multidisciplinary approach in the diagnostic challenge of GIST

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common malignant mesenchymal lesions of the gastrointestinal tract. They originate from the interstitial cells of Cajal and are characterized by overexpression of the tyrosine kinase receptor, protein product of c-KIT gene (KIT). In this retrospective study, conducted over a period of 10 years, we retrieved from our database, a total number of 57 patients, admitted and operated in the surgical department of 'Sf. Pantelimon' Emergency Clinical Hospital, Bucharest, for digestive tumors, histopathologically confirmed as GISTs. More than half of the cases presented as surgical emergencies and the tumors found during the surgical procedures, which proved to be GISTs, were sometimes difficult to differentiate from other mesenchymal tumors, both for the clinician and the pathologist. The diagnosis of GIST relies mostly on pathology and immunohistochemistry, but also on clinical and imagistic data. The most common emergencies were digestive hemorrhage (associated with gastric location), followed by intestinal obstruction (especially for the ileal localization). The largest dimensions corresponded to gastric location. For selected indications (upper digestive sites), upper digestive endoscopy approaches 100% sensitivity. This study focuses on diagnosis of GISTs sustained by both clinical and imagistic methods, along with histopathology and immunohistochemistry techniques, according to the World Health Organization 2019 criteria. Even though the differential diagnosis of these tumors is challenging, an interdisciplinary cooperation with a multiple approach increases the odds of a correct positive diagnosis.