[Advances in the diagnosis and management of gastrointestinal tumours: 5 cases].
BACKGROUND
Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST) are the most frequent mesenchymatous tumours of the digestive tract. Options for diagnosis and treatment have developed rapidly in recent years. The authors report five cases of GIST.


METHODS
The study concerns 5 patients: 3 men and 2 women, with a mean age at diagnosis of 39.8 years. We describe the circumstances of discovery and the clinical and morphological characteristics of these tumours. They were located in the oesophagus (1 case), stomach (2 cases), small intestine (1 case) and mesentery (1 case). Tumour size ranged from 4-20 cm. Liver metastasis was identified at initial diagnosis for one patient. Immunohistochemical analysis identified expression of CD34, CD117 and S-100 proteins in all cases and smooth muscle actin in 2 cases. All the patients underwent surgical resection for GIST, and one received chemotherapy. No patient received imatinib treatment. After a mean follow-up of 40 months: one patient presented peritoneal carcinosis at one year, and 3 patients liver metastasis at 2 years; one of the latter died.


CONCLUSIONS
The cases reported here are original by the rarity of their localization (especially the oesophagus and the mesentery). Diagnosis and treatment options for patients are described in a discussion of the recent advances in the field.


CONCLUSIONS
GIST are the most frequently mesenchymatous tumours of the digestive tract. They must be recognized, especially in view of their frequency. Optimal management today involves complete tumour resection and imatinib.
Clinique médicale C, CHU Ibn Sina, Rabat, Maroc. elkihal.latifa@caramail.com
Latifa
L
Elkihal
Fatima-Zohra
FZ
Ajana
Hassan
H
Seddik
Wafae
W
Essamri
Imane
I
Benelbarhdadi
Rajae
R
Afifi
Mustapha
M
Benazzouz
Abdellah
A
Essaid
Fouad
F
Kettani
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D046152:Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged