Skeletal Muscle Metastasis of a GIST: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Abstract

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common malignant mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. The most common sites of metastasis are the liver and the peritoneum, whereas metastasis to soft tissue is rare. The authors present the case of a 78-year-old male with a soft tissue metastasis of a GIST and the current literature is reviewed.

Skeletal muscle metastasis from a gastrointestinal stromal tumor

“…Metastases to lymph nodes and extra-abdominal structures are uncommon, occurring in less than 10% of cases [18] . Skeletal muscle metastasis from a primary GIST is exceptionally rare, and to our knowledge, only 6 cases have been reported in the literature [8–13] . Pasku et al [8] reported a case of bilateral gluteal and lung metastases in a 56-year-old woman with a GIST of the pelvis, which was initially misdiagnosed as a uterine leiomyosarcoma.…”

“…Due to the patient's unstable state of health, the lesion was not excised, and she received TKI therapy. Finally, Savvidou et al [ 13 ] reported the case of a 78-year-old man with medial right upper thigh metastases from an anal GIST. The patient subsequently underwent wide excision of the lesion, which confirmed the diagnosis of skeletal muscle metastases secondary to GIST.…”

“…GISTs remain an unpredictable entity: almost 50% of patients develop recurrence or metastases within 2 years of presentation, [5,6] and the most common metastatic sites are the liver and peritoneum [7] . Metastasis to other sites, such as lymph nodes and skeletal muscles, is extremely rare [8–13] . We present the case of a 59-year-old man with skeletal muscle metastasis diagnosed during a period of adjuvant imatinib therapy following the recurrence of a GIST of the small intestine.…”

“…[7] Metastasis to other sites, such as lymph nodes and skeletal muscles, is extremely rare. [8][9][10][11][12][13] We present the case of a 59-yearold man with skeletal muscle metastasis diagnosed during a period of adjuvant imatinib therapy following the recurrence of a GIST of the small intestine. The patient provided informed consent for the publication of this case report.…”

Clinical characteristics and prognosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumors with rare site metastasis (Review)

“…For example, when intracranial GIST metastasis occurs, it usually affects the nervous system, resulting in dizziness, headache, memory impairment, loss of sensation and inability to move a single limb, the inability to maintain body balance and abnormal gait and posture, along with a series of neurological crements (27,32,35,40,51,61,70,87,87,92,93). In cases of bone metastasis, pain manifests in the affected bone area (29,37,48,52,53,63,69,75,80,94,95), in cases of skeletal muscle involvement, a mass can be palpated in the affected area (34,49,71,72,79), and when metastasis occurs deep in the bone marrow, anemia may be present (96). Furthermore, when GIST metastasizes to the lungs, signs and symptoms that may be observed include dyspnea, blood in the sputum, coughing and shortness of breath (18,85,88,97).…”