Ovarian metastasis of gastrointestinal stromal tumor: A case report and review of the literatures

Introduction: Ovarian metastases of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are extremely rare, however, these patients may still have a favorable prognosis when treated with imatinib after resection. Case Report: We report on the successful treatment of a 54-year-old female with gastric GIST metastatic to the ovary, who had undergone distal gastrectomy 11 years ago. The resected ovarian tumor was a solid multinodular mass consisting of KIT-positive and discovered on gastrointestinal stromal tumors protein (DOG1)-positive spindle cells, and was thus diagnosed as a recurrent metastasis of gastric GIST. No tumor recurrence was observed during the two years of follow-up while on imatinib therapy. Conclusion: As GIST metastatic to the ovary may mimic primary ovarian tumors, KIT and DOG1 immunohistochemistry can aid in making correct pathological diagnosis. Furthermore, patients with this particular metastatic pattern may benefit from imatinib treatment after resection.