Principles of the surgical procedure in stroma tumors

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) have been regarded as rare tumor man ifestations of the mesenchymal tissue fraction of the intestinal building p rinciple; however, this tumor is now established as an independent tumor en tity owing to independent immunohistochemical and ultrastructural character istics. In spite of increasing awareness of their biological behavior and t heir molecular-biological basis, evaluating the grade of many of these tumo rs remains open, not only on a preoperative but also on a postoperative bas is. Thus, how radical the surgical procedure must be is not standardized, a s it is in carcinoma surgery. The literature available today is not suffici ent to make a valid analytical assummption possible because of small number s of cases and the heterogeneity of clinical and pathological variables. Th erefore, recommendations concerning oncological-surgical radicality have at this time an empirical character. Owing to the rarity of the tumor, this w ill probalby not change in the near future. Adjuvant therapeutical treatmen t of relevant effectiveness does not exist. Therefore, the radicalnes of th e operation is organ-specific, tumor-specific and based on tumor-biological criteria.