Medical Oncology

, 33:20 | Cite as

Gastrointestinal (GI) leiomyosarcoma (LMS) case series and review on diagnosis, management, and prognosis

  • Lara Hilal
  • Kassem Barada
  • Deborah Mukherji
  • Sally Temraz
  • Ali Shamseddine
Review Article

Abstract

This review of 76 gastrointestinal (GI) leiomyosarcoma (LMS) cases that include 11 cases from the American University of Beirut Medical Center represents, to our knowledge, the largest number of combined GI LMS cases reported. The age range of GI LMS is variable, and the presentation is non-specific, making pathological diagnosis essential. LMSs usually lack CD117 and CD 34 mutations and are usually positive for smooth muscle cell markers. The review highlights surgery as the mainstay of treatment with negative margins attained most of the times. Adjuvant chemotherapy is used in around 7–27 % of the cases mainly for small intestinal and colorectal LMS. The relatively small number of patients is a limitation on outcome analysis. However, LMS has a risk of recurrence reaching 39–80 % and secondary metastasis reaching 55–71 % in small intestinal and colorectal cases. In light of the high frequency of recurrence and metastasis, enrolling patients in clinical randomized trials to investigate the role of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and targeted therapy is required for better control of this rare aggressive GI tumor.

Keywords

Intraluminal gastrointestinal Leiomyosarcoma Pathological characteristics Survival outcomes 

Notes

Compliance with ethical standards

Conflict of interest

None.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  • Lara Hilal
    • 1
  • Kassem Barada
    • 2
  • Deborah Mukherji
    • 3
  • Sally Temraz
    • 3
  • Ali Shamseddine
    • 3
    • 4
  1. 1.Department of Radiation Oncology, Naef K. Basile Cancer InstituteAmerican University of Beirut Medical CenterBeirutLebanon
  2. 2.Gastrointestinal Division, Department of Internal MedicineAmerican University of Beirut Medical CenterBeirutLebanon
  3. 3.Department of Internal Medicine, Naef K. Basile Cancer InstituteAmerican University of Beirut Medical CenterBeirutLebanon
  4. 4.Hematology - Oncology DivisionTumor RegistryRiad El Solh, BeirutLebanon

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