Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor: An Uncommon but Serious Cause of Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Abstract

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are rare tumors of the GI tract that can sometimes present as a gastrointestinal bleeding source. This report describes a patient presented with upper GI bleeding secondary to a gastric GIST, which was initially detected on endoscopy. The patient underwent surgical resection of the tumor and was started on adjuvant chemotherapy with imatinib. The patient’s postoperative course was complicated by an esophageal leak requiring re-exploratory laparotomy and esophageal stent placement. The stent was removed 5 weeks later and the patient remained stable for discharge after 60 days of inpatient care. J Med Cases. 2021;12(2):74-78 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jmc3631