[Frontiers in Bioscience 11, 498-501, January 1, 2006]

Primary gastrointestinal stromal tumor of the liver with lung metastases successfully treated with STI-571 (imatinib mesylate)

Annarosaria De Chiara 1, Vincenzo De Rosa 2, Secondo Lastoria 3, Renato Franco 1, Gerardo Botti 1, Vincenzo Rosario Iaffaioli 4, and Gaetano Apice 4

1 U.O.C. Pathology , 2 U.O.C. Radiology, 3 U.O.C. Nuclear Medicine, 4 U.O.C. Medical Oncology B, Istituto dei Tumori di Napoli "G. Pascale", Italy

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Materials and Methods
4.Discussion
5. Acknowledgment
6. References

1. ABSTRACT

We report a case of a primary malignant GIST of the liver metastatic to the lung in a 37 years-old man. The liver tumor showed histological feature of a GIST and expressed vimentin, and diffusely exhibited CD117. One year after the resection of the liver mass, the patient developed multiple small lung metastases which completely disappeared with STI-571 (imatinib mesylate -Gleevec) therapy. C.T. or PET did not show any mass in the abdomen. These findings suggest that the liver mass was a primary rather than a metastatic tumour. They also support the hypothesis that GIST could originate from undifferentiated mesenchymal cells capable to differentiate toward a pacemaker cell phenotype, which are present in sites other than the G.I. tract.