Epidemiological, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Aspects of Gastro-Intestinal Stromal Tumor, About 16 Cases

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) may be defined as morphologically spindle cell, epithelioid, or occasionally pleomorphic mesenchymal tumours of the gastrointestinal tract that usually express the KIT protein. METHODS: Our work is a retrospective study carried out on all patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors with histological confirmation, presented at the Digestive Oncology Surgery and Liver Transplantation Department of CHU IBN ROCHD in Casablanca over 4 years (2020-2023). RESULTS: The average age was 56 years with sex ratio 1.6H/F. The main location of the tumor was the stomach. The most of patiend presented deterioration of general condition with abdominal pain. Upper GI endoscopy with biopsy was performed in 12 patients, the histopathological study of the biopsies with immunohistochemical study was consistent with a gastrointestinal stromal tumor. An abdominopelvic CT scan with and without injection was requested in all patients in this series, the result was: well-limited tissue mass, site of calcification and areas of necrosis. All the patient files in this series were discussed with multidisciplinary team meetings. Surgery was performed for 14 patients and the surgical approach was laparotomy. The intraoperative exploration findings are stomach, rectum, small intestine. The type of resection was determined by the tumor’s localization. CONCLUSION: Although GISTs are uncommon, their incidence is probably increasing. Its diagnosis should be kept in mind during the work up of patients. Surgery and imatinib form the first-line therapy and their effectiveness for the majority of patients has been revolutionary.