Chirurgia italiana
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Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST) are rare neoplasms originating from connective tissue in the digestive tract with an incidence of less than 1% and account for most non-epithelial primitive digestive tumours. Metastasis diagnosed at the time of disease discovery confirms GIST malignancy. Kit protein, a trans-membrane tyrosine kinase receptor of staminal cells, is characteristically expressed by GIST. ⋯ The patient was discharged on postoperative day 8 and commenced imatinib therapy 30 days after the operation with 4 tablets per day. In the following months the patient repeated the CT scan to monitor the progressive volume reduction of the liver and lung lesions and a PET scan confirmed that the lesions were not active; the patient experienced a 13 kg body weight increase. One year after the operation the outcome appears to be lasting and the patient has tolerated the drug treatment well.