Case Report OPEN ACCESS
Gastrointestinal stromal tumor of the pancreas:
A case report and review of the literature
Amel Trabelsi, MD1, Lilia Ben Yacoub-Abid, MD1, Abdallah Mtimet, MD2, Soumaya Ben Abdelkrim, MD1
Faten Hammedi, MD1, Ali Ben Ali, MD2, Moncef Mokni, MD1.
1Department of Pathology, Farhat Hached Hospital, Sousse, Tunisia.
2Department of Surgery, Sahloul Hospital, Sousse, Tunisia.
Citation: Trabelsi A, Ben Yacoub-Abid L, Mtimet A, Ben Abdelkrim S, Hammedi F, Ben Ali A, Mokni M. Gastrointestinal stromal tumor of the pancreas: A case report with review of the literature. North Am J Med Sci 2009; 1: 324-326.
Abstract
Context: Primary stromal tumors of the pancreas are extremely rare. Only four cases have been reported in the literature. We describe a new case and analyze, through a review of the literature, the clinical and pathological data, and the outcome of the previously reported cases. Case report: We report the case of a 52-year-old-woman who presented with epigastric pain. Preoperatively, abdominal pelvic computed tomography revealed a pancreatic head mass. The surgery confirmed the presence of a large tumor of the pancreatic head. Pathologic results revealed a malignant gastrointestinal stromal tumor of the pancreatic head, completely removed. There is no recurrence or metastases 10 months after surgery. Conclusion: The current case consolidates the possibility that this rare tumor can involve the pancreas as a primary site and that GIST of primary pancreatic localization are usually of high risk of malignancy.
Keywords: Stromal tumor, pancreas, histopathology, CD117.
Correspondence to: Soumaya Ben Abdelkrim, Department of Pathology, Farhat Hached Hospital, 4000, Sousse, Tunisia. Tel.: 21699326546, Fax: 21673226702. Email: benabdelkrims@voila.fr