Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumours—A Retrospective Study of the Clinical, Endoscopic, and Computed Tomographic Features

HKF Mak, CMY Leung, CW Chan, JWC Ho, KKO Mak, KCW Wong

Hong Kong J Radiol 2002;5:82-7

Objective: To evaluate the clinical, endoscopic, and computed tomographic findings of gastrointestinal stromal tumours.

Patients and Methods: Twenty-five patients with the pathological diagnosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumours seen at Yan Chai Hospital over a period of 5 1/2 years were included in the study. A retrospective review of patient records, endoscopy and computed tomographic findings, and pathological reports was conducted.

Results: Gastrointestinal stromal tumours most commonly were seen in patients over 40 years (range 35 to 87 years). The most common sites of origin were the stomach and small bowel (64% and 24%, respectively) and the most common presenting symptom was gastrointestinal bleeding (80%). Gastrointestinal stromal tumours were seen on endoscopy as pedunculated or sessile intraluminal masses with smooth mucosa, or less often as bulging submucosal masses in the lumen and rarely as malignant ulcer. Tumours smaller than 5 cm had benign computed tomographic features such as spherical shape, smooth margin, and homogeneous attenuation and enhancement, whereas those larger than 5 cm showed aggressive features such as irregular shape, mucosal ulceration, and heterogeneous attenuation and enhancement.

Conclusions: The clinical and endoscopic features of gastrointestinal stromal tumours seen in this series were similar to previous reports, with the exception of gastrointestinal bleeding being the most common presentation. Gastrointestinal stromal tumours larger than 5 cm were associated with aggressive computed tomography features.