Surgical Management of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumours: A Large Single Centre Experience

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, accounting for 1-3% of all gastrointestinal malignancies. The most common site of origin within the gastrointestinal tract is the stomach, followed by the small bowel. The clinical presentations of GISTs are highly variable according to the site of origin and the and size, but none of them is pathognomonic. GISTs are indeed often diagnosed incidentally during investigations performed for other reasons. The preoperative radiological diagnosis of GISTs is complicated by their varied macroscopic morphology. Moreover, the precision of preoperative histopathological diagnostics is reduced by the submucosal localization of the lesion. Surgical resections is the ‘gold standard’ therapeutic choice of primary GISTs. Recently, a targeted therapy with inhibitors of tyrosine kinase receptors (imatinib) has been introduced for the management of advanced and metastatic tumors.