Jejunal GIST: Hunting down an unusual cause of gastrointestinal bleed using double balloon enteroscopy. A case report

INTRODUCTION: Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal neoplasms of the alimentary tract but accounts for only 0.1-3% of all gastrointestinal neoplasms. The most common presentation of GISTs is acute or chronic gastrointestinal bleeding, in which the patient presents with symptomatic anaemia.

PRESENTATION OF CASE: With that in mind, we describe a 66-year-old man who presented with recurrent episodes of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding for two years. Video capsule endoscopy (VCE) showed several small telangiectasias in the proximal small bowel. Oral route double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) revealed abnormal mucosa 165 cm from incisor with central ulceration and vascular component. He subsequently underwent surgical excision. The histopathological report confirmed the diagnosis of GIST arising from the jejunum. During his clinic follow up, he remains symptom-free with no evidence of recurrence.

DISCUSSION: The diagnosis of bleeding small intestine GISTs can be challenging as these are inaccessible by conventional endoscopy. Imaging modalities such as double-balloon enteroscopy, capsule endoscopy, CT angiography, intravenous contrast-enhanced multidetector row CT (MDCT) and magnetic resonance enterography (MRE) have been used to assist in the diagnosis of bleeding small intestine GISTs. The mainstay of management for small intestine GIST is complete surgical excision.

CONCLUSION: Bleeding jejunal GIST is very rare and only a handful of case reports have been published. The mainstay of management for small intestine GIST is complete surgical excision. It is essential to obtain a complete excision of localised disease and avoiding tumour spillage in order to reduce the risk of local recurrence and metastatic spread of GISTs.