The Effect of Surgery and Grade on Outcome of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

Abstract

GASTROINTESTINAL stromal tumors (GIST) are uncommon tumors, constituting 1% to 3% of all gastrointestinal malignant neoplasia in the United States.^1-3 There has been considerable debate regarding the proper nomenclature, cell of origin, and pathological classification of this tumor of mixed phenotypes.⁴ The cell of origin has recently been postulated to be the interstitial cell of Cajal, an intestinal pacemaker cell of mesodermal descent.^5-8 Gastrointestinal stromal tumors are known for wide variability in clinical behavior and for difficulty in determining malignancy and prognosis.⁹ Along with variability in the management of these patients, this difficulty in classifying GIST contributes to a wide variation in reported 5-year survival rates ranging from 19% to 56% overall, and from 32% to 63% following complete resection.^1,3,10