Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor

ABSTRACT

Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is a relatively rare disease accounted for less than 1% of gastrointestinal tumors. In the past, surgery is the only reliable therapy for the locoregional GISTs. But with the development of the specific target agents such as imatinib or sunitinib, advanced metastatic GIST can be cured now. GISTs are incidentally found by endoscopic ultrasound or laparoscopic surgery for the abdominal mass and positive immunostain for KIT with characteristic histopathology is mandatory for the diagnosis. Mutational analyses for KIT and PDGFRA is helpful in the diagnosis and treatment of GISTs. Because most GISTs are potentially malignant and surgery itself has high recurrence rate, it should be treated at an early stage and chemotherapy should be considered aggressively. The tumor size, mitotic index, and the involved organs are important prognostic factors. In this paper, the pathogenesis of histopathology, clinical diagnosis and treatment of GISTs were reviewed.