Successful excision of a giant stomach gastrointestinal stromal tumour-A case report

Gastrointestinal stromal tumours are rare, but most common mesenchymal tumours originate from the gastrointestinal tract. Though surgery is the primary treatment, advanced tumours require targeted therapy in combination with surgery.

A 62-year-old lady who presented with abdominal distention and pain was found to have a large abdominal mass. A contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed a large abdominal mass extending from the epigastrium to the pelvis, with a solitary omental deposit. Despite receiving Imatinib for six months, the disease progressed, and she underwent open En block tumour excision with distal gastrectomy and distal pancreatectomy with Roux-en-Y gastrojejunostomy and part of omental resection after multi-disciplinary team discussions. Histological examination confirmed a spindle-type gastrointestinal stromal tumour, which arrived from the stomach's submucosa; immunohistochemistry showed strong cytoplasmic and membranous positivity for CD117.

While rare (0.1-3 % of GI malignancies), GISTs are most common in the stomach (56 %) and small bowel (32 %). Even large tumours can present with vague symptoms without obstructive features. Advanced tumours can be treated with targeted tumour therapy like Imatinib in combination with surgery. Surgical resection, usually laparoscopic, is the gold standard, but open surgery may be needed for large laparoscopically unresectable tumours.

Though large tumours may present with vague symptoms without obstructive features, they tend to be more aggressive and can progress despite imatinib therapy. While laparoscopic surgery is the gold standard, open surgery is preferable for large, laparoscopically unresectable tumours.