Abdominal gastrointestinal stromal tumours: a study of twelve patients

Introduction Gastrointestinal stromal tumour is a rare mesenchymal tumour of the gastrointestinal tract. The stomach and small intestine are the favoured sites for these tumours. Pre-operative diagnosis is difficult on clinical basis for such tumours and only a detailed histopathological examination of specimen reveals its true nature. The aim of this research study was to examine abdominal gastrointestinal stromal tumour in a general surgery ward. Materials and methods A retrospective case review study of patients, who had a diagnosis of the abdominal gastrointestinal stromal tumour, was performed. Clinical presentation, operative findings and a follow-up was recorded for these patients. Recurrence and development of a new tumour was recorded during the follow-up. Results Twelve patients, who had an abdominal gastrointestinal stromal tumour, were examined. There were nine male patients and three female patients. Eight patients were diagnosed with an abdominal mass, one patient had peritonitis, one patient had an upper gastrointestinal bleeding, one patient had rectal bleeding and one patient was diagnosed with an intestinal obstruction. All the patients had exploratory laparotomy and postoperative imatinib was given to them. Conclusion Gastrointestinal stromal tumour in the abdomen is a rare cancer. These tumours have variable clinical behaviour, with abdominal mass being the common symptom. Surgical resection with negative margin is the preferred modality of treatment for gastrointestinal stromal tumour.