Case Report
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World J Gastroenterol. Jan 21, 2014; 20(3): 863-868
Published online Jan 21, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i3.863
Malignant extra-gastrointestinal stromal tumor of the pancreas: Report of two cases and review of the literature
Yan-Tao Tian, Hao Liu, Su-Sheng Shi, Yi-Bin Xie, Quan Xu, Jian-Wei Zhang, Dong-Bing Zhao, Cheng-Feng Wang, Ying-Tai Chen
Yan-Tao Tian, Hao Liu, Yi-Bin Xie, Quan Xu, Jian-Wei Zhang, Dong-Bing Zhao, Cheng-Feng Wang, Ying-Tai Chen, Department of Abdominal Surgery, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China
Su-Sheng Shi, Department of Pathology, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China
Author contributions: Tian YT, Liu H and Shi SS collected the clinical data; Tian YT, Xie YB, Zhang JW, Zhao DB, Xu Q and Wang CF performed the operations; Chen YT wrote the paper.
Supported by The Beijing Hope Run Special Fund, LC2012A09; and Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission, Z131107002213164
Correspondence to: Ying-Tai Chen, MD, PhD, Department of Abdominal Surgery, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Peking Union Medical College, 17 Panjiayuan Nanli, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100021, China. yingtai.chen@hotmail.com
Telephone: +86-10-87787120 Fax: +86-10-67730386
Received: October 28, 2013
Revised: November 25, 2013
Accepted: January 2, 2014
Published online: January 21, 2014
Processing time: 114 Days and 7.2 Hours
Abstract

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are mesenchymal tumors that arise from the gastrointestinal tract. In rare cases, these tumors are found in intra-abdominal sites unrelated to the gastrointestinal tract, such as the mesentery, omentum and retroperitoneum. However, pancreatic extra-gastrointestinal stromal tumors are extremely rare, with only 14 previous cases reported. A 61-year-old man with no clinical symptoms had a routine check-up, during which an abdominal mass located in the pancreas tail was detected. Abdominal surgery was performed with resection of the pancreas tail and the spleen, and he was diagnosed with low-risk GISTs. Another 60-year-old man with no clinical symptoms underwent Computed tomography which revealed a well-demarcated tumor, 6 cm in diameter, in the head of the pancreas. He was diagnosed with pancreatic GISTs. Here, we describe two rare cases of pancreatic GISTs and review the cases previously reported in the literature.

Keywords: Gastrointestinal Stromal tumors; Extra-gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors; Pancreatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors

Core tip: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) tend to arise with a higher frequency in the stomach and the small bowel. In fewer than 5% of cases, they originate primarily from EGISTs. Among them, pancreatic GIST is very rare, with only 14 previous cases reported. Here, we report two cases of malignant pancreatic GIST and review the cases previously reported in the literature.