Rectal adenocarcinoma coexisting with gastro-intestinal stromal tumor: A case report and literature review

Abstract

The finding of a gastrointestinal stromal tumor along with other epithelial cancers has been previously reported. Most commonly occurring in the GI tract, a second malignancy has been reported in nearly 13-20% patients with GIST. An elderly woman with a moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma of the rectum underwent low anterior resection. Histology revealed a low-grade GIST along with adenocarcinoma of the rectum, with no lymph node involvement or metastatic disease. This seems to be the first case of a simultaneous occurrence of a GIST along with a rectal adenocarcinoma. The high incidence of a second malignancy in patients with GIST points toward an increased susceptibility to cancer. Is it necessary to treat such patients as generalized cancer syndromes with intensive surveillance and cancer screening?

Rectal adenocarcinoma coexisting with incidentally found microscopic gastrointestinal stromal tumor

“…To our knowledge, only 2 cases of GISTs synchronously with rectal adenocarcinoma have been reported. Harshal et al [11] first reported a case of a large GIST coexisting with an adenocarcinoma of the rectum, and in another case, advanced adenocarcinoma in the rectum coexisting with an incidental prostate carcinoma was reported synchronously with a large GIST by Suzuki et al [12] In our report, synchronous occurrence of micro-GIST and rectal carcinoma are discovered incidentally as during histological examination of resected specimen.…”