Gastrointestinal stromal tumor of the stomach in a child with a 3-year follow-up period—Case report

Abstract

We report a case of a nine-year-old boy with a 4-week history of general fatigue, loss of appetite, vomits and hematemesis. Laboratory evaluation revealed a hemoglobin level of 4.4 g/dl. After a transfusion of packed red blood cells the patient underwent an esophagogastroduodenoscopy, which showed a smooth, rounded 6–8 cm submucosal lesion with a central depression with ulceration and active bleeding in the cardia extending to the fundus.

Computed tomography (CT) of the chest, abdomen and pelvis showed a large mass originating from the gastric wall but not infiltrating surrounding organs, approximately 8.0 cm × 7.0 cm × 5 cm. Despite the tumor size, no metastases were diagnosed. The patient underwent a total gastrectomy in an en-bloc resection including the distal part of the esophagus (3 cm) and omentum with oncologic margins. Reconstruction was performed with a mediastinal end-to-side esophago-jejunal anastomosis. Immunehistochemic confirmed GIST. He remains well without evidence of disease after 36 months of follow-up with a multiprofessional team.