Diplopia as a presenting symptom in a gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumor

Abstract

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors are the most common mesenchymal neoplasm of the gastrointestinal tract. Distant metastasis of gastrotintestinal stromal tumors occurs in ~50% of the cases and is usually found in the liver and peritoneum. We present a patient with diplopia which was due to a metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumor of the clivus. Transsphenoidal resection of the tumor was performed and post-operative treatment with oral imatinib mesylate was done. One month after the surgery, treatment was started with imatinib and the patient's diplopia improved within 15 days. Follow-up computed tomography was taken 2 months after the initiation of oral imatinib, and the size of the main gastric mass has decreased. To our knowledge, this is an extremely rare case of gastrointestinal stromal tumor with metastasis to the clivus with diplopia as the presenting symptom. We report our clinical findings along with a review of the relevant literature. © The Author (2010). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.