Background:

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) originate as precursor cells of the interstitial cells of Cajal in the myenteric plexus and generally have a mutation in the tyrosine kinase receptor, C-KIT (CD117). The objective is to evaluate the clinical, epidemiological, and therapeutic profiles of GIST cases available from a hospital specializing in cancer treatment.

Methods:

A retrospective, longitudinal study of 85 GIST cases in a Cancer Center (São Paulo, Brazil) was conducted.

Results:

The cases identified involved 40 men and 45 women and the average age at diagnosis was 55.7 ± 14. 8 years (median, 57). The symptoms present at diagnosis depended on the location and dimensions of each lesion. In 49 cases (57.6%), the tumors had a gastric location and the mean dimensions were 7.2 ± 2.3 cm (median, 3.4 cm). Recurrent metastatic disease presented in 27 cases (with the liver mainly affected). Locoregional recurrence was detected in 16 cases. C-KIT was positive in 79/81 (97.5%) of the cases examined. Most of the tumors were initially treated with surgery, while clinical treatment was applied to the recurrent cases. The overall survival rate was 76.4% 162 months after diagnosis.

Conclusions:

The GISTs examined most commonly originated in the stomach, while the liver was the main site affected by metastatic lesions. Most of the lesions appeared to be slow-growing neoplasms that were positive for C-KIT (CD117). Complications, as well as death, mostly affected the elderly patients that had comorbidities or more aggressive forms of the disease (AU)