Open Access

RESIDENT’S CORNER

Rectal gastrointestinal stromal tumor mimicking a primary prostatic lesion

Brendan C. Dickson¹, John R. Srigley², Aaron F. Pollett³, Martin E. Blackstein⁴, John D. Honey⁵, Jonathan W. Juco⁶

1 Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
2 Department of Laboratory Medicine, Credit Valley Hospital; Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
3 Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
4 Department of Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
5 Department of Urology, St. Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
6 Division of Pathology, St. Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address orrespondence to Dr. Jonathan W. Juco, Division of Pathology, St. Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 1W8 Canada

Canadian Journal of Urology 2008, 15(3), 4112-4114.

Abstract

The interstitial cells of Cajal have been identifi ed in locations beyond the gastrointestinal tract, including the prostate, uterus and bladder. Indeed, there are reports of primary gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) arising from each of these sites. We report the case of a 72-year-old male who presented with benign prostatic hypertrophy and was diagnosed on retropubic prostatectomy as having a GIST. While the initial clinical and radiologic impression was that of a primary prostatic GIST, subsequent imaging ultimately revealed a small rectal extension as the source of the lesion. The purpose of our report is to highlight the need to assiduously rule-out gastrointestinal sources of GIST prior to making the diagnosis of primary prostatic GIST.

---

Keywords

---