A case report of giant esophageal gastrointestinal stromal tumor surgically resected after preoperative imatinib treatment

This report concerns a 68-year-old man with an esophageal gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) surgically resected after preoperative treatment. Endoscopic examination and the biopsy revealed the submucosal tumor in the lower esophagus to be c-kit gene positive, and we diagnosed the tumor as a GIST. Computed tomography showed a 124 × 74 × 115 mm mass with an unclear margin adjacent to the posterior wall of the left atrium and the inferior right pulmonary vein. As we judged the tumor to be locally advanced and unresectable because of its size and invasiveness, we started neoadjuvant therapy with imatinib mesylate to attain downstaging for complete surgical resection. After 3 months of the treatment, the size of the tumor was reduced to 84 × 52 × 85 mm, and it was free from the adjacent organs. Complete surgical resection was performed together with lower esophagectomy. The patient is alive without cancer 2 years after surgery.