With deeper understanding of gastrointestinal stromal tumor(GIST), more and more patients are diagnosed as GIST. Although the prognosis of early GIST is satisfactory after complete surgical resection, there are still many problems in the treatment of advanced GIST. Variety of treatment options has been used in the treatment of GIST, such as surgery, targeted drug therapy, and surgery plus imatinib therapy. However, post-operative recurrence, imatinib-resistance, multi-targeted drug resistance are still challenges. Many clinical evidences show that a reasonable management strategy can improve the prognosis of patients with advanced GIST. All the doctors should have a clear mind to carry out appropriate interventions. Advanced GIST should not be simply considered to be either medical or surgical disease, but rather must be systematically managed by multidisciplinary team approach combining surgical oncology, medical oncology, pathology, and interventional medicine. This review will advocate suitable treatment strategies based on the most recent progresses in systemic treatment for advanced GIST and our clinical experience to achieve early detection, early prevention, proper management, and therefore improve the survival of these patients.
Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; pathology ; surgery ; Humans ; Neoplasm Metastasis

BACKGROUND: Small bowel tumors are relatively uncommon, accounting for only 3 to 6% of all gastrointestinal tumors. Their infrequency and the lack of specific symptoms can result in delayed diagnosis and poor prognosis. The purpose of this study was to find a relationship between the pathology and the clinical features of primary tumors of the jejunum and the ileum. METHODS: We analyzed the clinicopathological findings of 28 patients with primary tumors of the jejunum and the ileum who had undergone surgery at the Department of Surgery, Asan Medical Center, between June 1989 and December 1997. RESULTS: Among the 28 patients, there were 20 men and 8 women. The mean age was 54 years (13-76 years). The tumors consisted of 10 malignant gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs), 7 lymphomas, 6 benign GISTs, 3 adenocarcinomas, and 2 lipomas. The clinical symptoms of these patients were abdominal pain (54%), GI bleeding (32%), nausea & vomiting (14%), weight loss (14%), palpation of abdominal mass (11%), and dizziness (11%). The preoperative complications were bleeding (32%), perforation (18%), intussusception (11%), and obstruction (7%). Bleeding was found in GISTs only and was more frequent in benign GISTs(100%) than in malignant GISTs (30%). Perforation was found in malignant tumors only (25%). Among the 20 patients with malignant tumors, chemotherapy was done in 13, and the 2-year survival rate was 75%. CONCLUSIONS: Early diagnosis of small bowel tumors is essential to prevent complications such as bleeding and perforation and to reduce mortality. Early diagnosis and surgery seem to be indispensable to a good outcome in symptomatic patients.
Abdominal Pain ; Adenocarcinoma ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Delayed Diagnosis ; Dizziness ; Drug Therapy ; Early Diagnosis ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Ileum* ; Intussusception ; Jejunum* ; Lipoma ; Lymphoma ; Male ; Mortality ; Nausea ; Palpation ; Pathology ; Prognosis ; Survival Rate ; Vomiting ; Weight Loss

Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract arising from Cajal's cells, expressing CD 117. The standard treatment for primary GIST is complete surgical resection. Imatinib mesylate, a specific tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is effective against locally advanced and metastatic GIST. There are several reports of the effect of preoperative imatinib in patients with unresectable and locally advanced primary GIST. We report a case of unresectable primary GIST of the ampulla of Vater, which we were able to completely resect after treatment with a dosage of imatinib 400 mg daily for 5 months. Twelve months later, the patient was treated with imatinib and doing well with no evidence of recurrence.
Ampulla of Vater/*pathology ; Antineoplastic Agents/*therapeutic use ; Duodenoscopy ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors/diagnosis/drug therapy/*surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Piperazines/*therapeutic use ; Pyrimidines/*therapeutic use ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is the most common mesenchymal tumor of the gastrointestinal tract. Imatinib mesylate is recommended as adjuvant therapy for GIST after surgical resection. However, drug-related adverse events are common. A 74-year-old female with metastatic GIST who was managed with imatinib experienced severe adverse events, including skin rashes, tremor, and alopecia, etc. The imatinib dose was reduced and the size of the metastatic GIST continued to decrease and adverse events showed significant improvement.
Aged ; Antineoplastic Agents/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Exanthema/etiology ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms/diagnosis/*drug therapy/pathology ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors/diagnosis/*drug therapy/pathology ; Humans ; Imatinib Mesylate/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Immunohistochemistry ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit/metabolism ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

No abstract available.
Adult ; Antineoplastic Agents/*adverse effects ; Antitubercular Agents/therapeutic use ; Biopsy ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors/*drug therapy/pathology/surgery ; Humans ; Imatinib Mesylate/*adverse effects ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial/*chemically induced/diagnosis ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis/*isolation & purification ; Protein Kinase Inhibitors/*adverse effects ; Rectal Neoplasms/*drug therapy/pathology/surgery ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/diagnosis/drug therapy/*microbiology

Abdominal Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; secondary ; surgery ; Dendritic Cell Sarcoma, Follicular ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Dendritic Cell Sarcoma, Interdigitating ; metabolism ; pathology ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors ; metabolism ; pathology ; Histiocytoma, Malignant Fibrous ; metabolism ; pathology ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Omentum ; Peritoneal Neoplasms ; secondary ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor ; metabolism ; Receptors, Complement 3b ; metabolism ; Receptors, Complement 3d ; metabolism

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to describe radiologic signs and time-course of imatinib-associated fluid retention (FR) in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), and its implications for management. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this Institutional Review Board-approved, retrospective study of 403 patients with GIST treated with imatinib, 15 patients with imaging findings of FR were identified by screening radiology reports, followed by manual confirmation. Subcutaneous edema, ascites, pleural effusion, and pericardial effusion were graded on a four-point scale on CT scans; total score was the sum of these four scores. RESULTS: The most common radiologic sign of FR was subcutaneous edema (15/15, 100%), followed by ascites (12/15, 80%), pleural effusion (11/15, 73%), and pericardial effusion (6/15, 40%) at the time of maximum FR. Two distinct types of FR were observed: 1) acute/progressive FR, characterized by acute aggravation of FR and rapid improvement after management, 2) intermittent/steady FR, characterized by occasional or persistent mild FR. Acute/progressive FR always occurred early after drug initiation/dose escalation (median 1.9 month, range 0.3-4.0 months), while intermittent/steady FR occurred at any time. Compared to intermittent/steady FR, acute/progressive FR was severe (median score, 5 vs. 2.5, p = 0.002), and often required drug-cessation/dose-reduction. CONCLUSION: Two distinct types (acute/progressive and intermittent/steady FR) of imatinib-associated FR are observed and each type requires different management.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antineoplastic Agents/*adverse effects/therapeutic use ; Ascites/pathology/radiography ; Benzamides/*adverse effects/therapeutic use ; Echocardiography/methods ; Edema/pathology/radiography ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors/drug therapy/pathology/*radiography ; Gastrointestinal Tract/pathology/*radiography ; Heart Failure/radiography ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Molecular Targeted Therapy/*adverse effects ; Pericardial Effusion/pathology/radiography ; Peritoneal Neoplasms/diagnosis/radiography/secondary ; Piperazines/*adverse effects/therapeutic use ; Pleural Effusion/pathology/radiography ; Pyrimidines/*adverse effects/therapeutic use ; Radiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed