ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the clinical and pathologic characteristics of rectal gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST),and to evaluate the management of rectal GIST. Methods The clinical and pathological data of 19 cases of rectal GIST in recent 19 years were studied retrospectively. Results The diagnosis of 19 cases of rectal GIST were identified by surgery and pathology. Most rectal GISTs were spindle cell type. Immunohistochemical analysis displayed positive reactivity for CD117(100%) and CD34(73. 7% ). Graded by aggressive behavior there were 4 cases of high risk, 3 cases of intermediate risk, 5 cases of low risk and 7 cases of very low risk. Conclusions Rectal GISTs have a low prevalence and have no specific symptom in the early stage. Most tumors are low risk in aggressive behavior. It is difficult to get an accurate pathological diagnosis before operation and difficult to decide whether a sphincter preserving procedure is justified however trans-anal local resection is the therapy of choice for low risk submucosal rectal GIST(