A patient with a 9.6-kg gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumour managed at a tertiary referral hospital in Ndola, Zambia

Abstract

[Accepted Case Report]

Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST) account for 1% to 3% of tumours of the gastrointestinal tract and 5% to 6% of sarcomas and are the most common subset of mesenchymal tumours in or outside the gastrointestinal tract. GIST have an annual incidence of 10 to 20 million people per year worldwide. Carcinogenesis of GIST arises in the interstitial cells of Cajal due to a mutation of the KIT (also known as CD117) and the platelet-derived growth factor A (PDGFA) gene, leading to activation of the tyrosine kinase receptor. GIST are usually asymptomatic and/or incidentally diagnosed during surgery or on imaging. Diagnosis is based on a positive stain of KIT (CD117) on immunohistochemical (IHC) staining. Surgical resection with clear margins must be achieved for resectable GIST and for GIST with resectable oligometastasis (liver or peritoneal metastasis). We present management of a patient at Ndola Teaching Hospital who was known to have an abdominal tumour that was thought to be arising from the ovary but was found to be a tumour arising from the stomach.