Background: Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs), although rare, are increasingly recognized, characterized immuno-phenotypically in most cases by a mutation in C-Kit. The advent of imatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has presented a novel and effective therapy in advanced disease. The aim of this study was to present the experience and outcomes of a single centre.
Methods: Review of prospective GIST database at St James Hospital from 1997 to 2005. Survival data were analysed using Kaplan-Meier methods.
Results: A total of 32 patients (19 males/13 females) with a median age of 61 years (10-84) were treated. The stomach (n = 20) was the dominant site. Surgery was the first line of treatment for all these tumours, and in seven cases this was performed laparoscopically. C-Kit was positive in 81% of cases. The median survival was 78 months with a 5-year survival of 71%.
Conclusion: GISTs are rare and surgical resection, increasingly with minimally invasive approaches, is associated with high cure rates, particularly in gastric tumours.