Endoscopic resection of a cardia gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) after echoendoscopy.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) previously were thought to represent smooth muscle tumours of the gastrointestinal tract and were formerly classified as leiomyomas and leiomyosarcomas. GISTs are the most common mesenchymal tumours of the gastrointestinal tract and are of clinical relevance because in at least 10% to 30% of cases they are malignant. In the past, GISTs chemo and radio-resistance made treatment a challenging issue for physicians, while criteria for evaluation of the malignant potential of GISTs were lacking. Currently, identification of reliable prognostic factors and the development of molecular-targeted anticancer strategies for GIST have given new hope to these patients. The objective of the present work was to report a case of endoscopic resection of a cardia GIST.