Type:
Educational Exhibit
Keywords:
Education and training, Diagnostic procedure, CT, Abdomen
Authors:
F. Arnone, R. Cannella, M. Dimarco, D. Giambelluca, V. Putortì, G. Lo Re, A. Lo Casto, M. Midiri; Palermo/IT
DOI:
10.26044/ecr2019/C-2633
Background
GISTs are the most frequent neoplastic forms of mesenchymal nature of the gastrointestinal tract and overall represent 1-3% of gastrointestinal tumors in middle or advanced age patient.
GISTs have more frequent localization in the stomach (65%) and small intestine (25%),
rarer in the esophagus,
colon and rectum.
In the stomach the body is the most common site,
followed by the fundus and antrum (1).
They derive from connective stem cells that are differentiated into Cajal cells,
which coordinate the contractions of the gastroenteric wall.
The uncontrolled growth of these cells is probably secondary to the constant activation of an enzyme called c-KIT,
the proto-oncogene responsible for the production of KIT,
which leads to the positivity of cells for CD117,
a receptor of tyrosine kinase,
and CD34 [2].
These tumors represent a group of diseases,
called gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST),
which include leiomyomata (the most frequent benign form),
leiomyosarcomas,
leiomioblastomas.
Most of the malignant GISTs with mutation in KIT,
is inhibited by Imatinib,
which competes for the ATP binding site on the target kinase,
by inhibiting tyrosine kinases,
reducing cell proliferation.