From a dermatological aspect, it posed a considerable challenge the skin-limited form of mastocytosis, urticaria pigmentosa and indolent systemic mastocytosis (ISM) with cutaneous lesions. Despite the favourable prognosis, lifelong dermatological control is needed, during which the average symptomatic therapy does not always seem adequate. We report here the case of a female ISM patient with re...

Pulmonary leukostasis is a rare but serious and often fatal complication of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in blast crisis and acute myeloid leukemia. Treatment options are limited for these patients. Imatinib mesylate (STI-571, Gleevec, Novartis) is a potent and selective inhibitor of the BCR-abl tyrosine kinase, the molecular abnormality that causes CML. The case of a 74-year-old man with a h...

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of imatinib mesylate in unresectable gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) and to discuss its therapeutic regimen. A patient with unresectable GIST is described, and several key clinical studies are reviewed, including the clinical trials B2222 and S0033, which contain recently reported results of the long-term clinical outcom...

Familial gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder associated with mutations in the KIT gene in the majority of cases. Although, exon 11 appears to be the hot spot region for approximately 95% of germline mutations, pathogenic variations have also been identified in exon 8, 13 and 17. Exon 13 germline mutations are extremely rare amongst familial GISTs and seve...

BACKGROUND Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) of the esophagogastric junction might pose a major problem to surgical resection. If locally advanced, extended or multivisceral resection with relevant procedural-specific morbidity and mortality is often necessary. CASE PRESENTATION We report a case of a patient with a locally advanced GIST of the esophagogastric junction who was treated by ...

Abstract Introduction Oesophageal gastro-intestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) are rare, accounting for less than five percent of all GIST, with the majority these occurring at oesophago-gastric junction (OGJ). Due to anatomical location and size presentation, surgical resection is often a major undertaking. Neoadjuvant treatment tyrosine kinase inhibitors, such as Imatinib mesylate, have potentia...

1. Arezzo A, Verra M, Morino M. Transanal endoscopic microsurgery after neoadjuvant therapy for rectal GIST. Digestive and Liver Disease 43 (2011) 921– 924. 2. Blay JY, Bonvalot S, Casali P, et al. GIST consensus meeting panellists: Consensus meeting for the management of gastrointestinal stromal tumours. Report of the GIST Consensus Conference of 20–21 March 2004, under the auspices of ESMO. A...

Bleeding from the tumour site is not uncommon during the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumours with imatinib mesylate. It might represent an early reaction of highly vascularised tumour tissue to receptor blockade. Although often requiring emergency surgery, this is not necessarily a deleterious sign. Slow tumour regression and cystic tissue alteration may follow. Using immunohistochemi...

Fifty patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph(+)) chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) in early chronic phase received imatinib mesylate, 400 mg orally daily. After a median follow-up of 9 months, 49 patients (98%) achieved a complete hematologic response and 45 patients (90%) achieved a major cytogenetic response, complete in 36 patients (72%). Compared with similar patients who recei...

BACKGROUND Imatinib mesylate has revolutionized the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia leading to significant reductions of BCR-ABL1 transcript levels in peripheral blood. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the response to imatinib mesylate treatment (400mg/day) in Brazilian patients in the chronic phase of chronic myeloid leukemia monitored by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction. METHOD...