TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Chapter 24. Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors A1 - Raut, Chandrajit P. A2 - Zinner, Michael J. A2 - Ashley, Stanley W. PY - 2013 T2 - Maingot's Abdominal Operations, 12e AB - Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are rare neoplasms. Although they represent only 0.1–3% of all gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies,1–4 they account for 80% of gastrointestinal mesenchymal neoplasms.5 Approximately 5000–6000 new cases are diagnosed per year in the United States, for an annual incidence of 14.5 per million and prevalence of 129 per million.6 In the last 12 years, the understanding and treatment of GIST has witnessed remarkable advances due to two key developments: (1) the identification of constitutively active signals (oncogenic mutation of the c-kit and platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha[PDGFRA] gene-encoding receptor tyrosine kinases) and (2) the development of therapeutic agents that suppress tumor growth by specifically targeting and inhibiting this signal (imatinib mesylate, sunitinib malate). These developments in the management of GIST represent a proof of the principle of translational therapeutics in oncology, confirming that specific inhibition of tumor-associated receptor tyrosine kinase activity may be an effective cancer treatment. The advent of effective therapy for GIST has not diminished but rather redefined the role of surgery for this disease. This chapter reviews the biology, treatment, and emerging clinical challenges of these mesenchymal neoplasms. SN - PB - The McGraw-Hill Companies CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/29 UR - accesssurgery.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=57011586 ER -