Giant small intestine gastrointestinal stromal tumor with gastrointestinal bleeding

Small intestine stromal tumors are relatively rare and cause subtle clinical signs and symptoms. Their diagnosis is often delayed until complications develop. Even if complications occur, an exact preoperative diagnosis may be very difficult. Surgery remains the mainstay of treatment, and other treatment modalities are limited. We present herein a patient with a giant gastrointestinal tumor who presented with gastrointestinal bleeding. Complete resection was performed despite the large tumor size (23 x 20 x 8 cm) and the patient was free of signs and symptoms during the 4-month follow-up. (Acta gastroenterol. belg., 2009, 72, 458-461).