GIST – A Mimicker: A Case Report
872-874
Correspondence
Dr. Udasimath. Shivakumarswamy. MD, DNB (Pathology)
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology,
Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences (HIMS),
Hassan – 573 201, Karnataka. INDIA.
E-mail : udasimath@gmail.com
Mobile: +91 94817 30220
IAP –ID/S-191/10.
Mesenchymal tumours in the gastrointestinal tract have long been problematic in terms of diagnosis, prognosis and therapy. But recent advances in Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and related therapies have allowed more specific diagnoses. Histopathological examination and the IHC study can correctly identify gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST) that are positive for c-KIT. The Imatinib drug which blocks the c-KIT receptor shows remarkable efficacy in the treatment of GIST.
We hereby report a case of GIST in a very young male patient who was admitted with a history of pain in the abdomen and recurrent vomiting since 6 months. The clinical examination revealed gastric outlet obstruction. This case report highlights the difficulties which were encountered in the pre-operative diagnosis, where the barium meal and ultrasound (USG) examination findings reported it as a pseudocyst/pancreatic abscess and the CT findings reported it as leiomyoma/lymphoma of the stomach. The histopathological examination of the partial gastrectomy specimen with the tumour tissue showed features which were suggestive of GIST. The IHC study for c-KIT was positive, thus confirming the diagnosis of GIST.