Temporal trends of incidence and survival of sarcoma of digestive tract including Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumours (GIST) in two areas of the north-east of Spain in the period 1981–2005: a population-based study

Introduction The diagnostic approach of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumours (GIST) was established in 2002. Before this, GIST had been classified with a wide range of histological terms. This fact and the consideration of potential malignity of all these tumours led to a false perception of an increasing incidence.