[Is positron emission tomography (PET) scan useful for studying the extent of gastrointestinal stromal tumors]

Gastrointestinal tumor (GIST) is the most frequent mesenchymal malignancy of the gastrointestinal tract. Liver and peritoneum are the most frequent metastatic sites. Surgery is the standard treatment in patients with localized disease and imatinib mesylate has been shown to be an effective treatment in metastatic or unresectable disease. We present a case of ileal GIST that was diagnosed as metastatic just with the findings of the fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) and showed a total response with Imatinib on PET.