Gastrointestinal stromal tumors. A study of 5 cases

: GI stromal tumors are mesenchymatal tumors arising primarily from the digestive tract or from the omentum. Despite their rarity (less than 1% of digestive tumors). These tumors have become of current interest since the discovery of a treatment for metastatic and locally advanced tumors, the imatinib (Glivec). In this study we report 5 cases of stromal tumors. Patients were 42 years old an average. Abdominal mass was the revealing signal in 80% of cases, localisation- was obtained by endoscopy and ultrasonography in 60% cases. Total resection of the tumor was performed in all patients. Immuno-histochemical examination confirmed the diagnosis of stromal tumors. Based on these cases and on a review of literature, we insist on the diagnostic difficulties of this rare pathology, while trying to determine the histological prognostic parameters and the latest therapeutic methods.