State of the Art in the Treatment of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most frequently diagnosed mesenchymal neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract. Despite their biological and clinical heterogeneity, the majority of these tumors are positive for the receptor tyrosine kinase KIT and are driven by KIT- or platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (PDGFRA)-activating mutations. There are still uncertainties regarding their clinical and molecular characterization and the optimal treatment regimens, making it difficult to establish a universal treatment algorithm for these tumors.

Summary

From a clinical perspective, the main difference between GISTs and other gastrointestinal neoplasms is that the benign or malignant behavior of GISTs cannot be predicted from histopathology, but inst

SUBMITTER: Garlipp B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4668786 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature