Abstract
Background: Lung metastases of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are rarely treated surgically; hence, resection of lung metastases of GIST has not been studied in depth. Case Report: A 66-year-old woman presented with GIST recurrence in the form of lung metastasis after resection of the primary tumor in the stomach. She was allergic to imatinib and refused any other molecularly targeted drugs; therefore, she underwent surgery for the lung metastasis. Although the lung metastasis of GIST recurred after lung surgery, the patient has been alive for 7 years and 3 months after resection of the primary tumor in the stomach (4 years and 3 months after the appearance of the first metastasis). Results: While molecularly targeted therapy could not be used in this patient, resection of the lung metastasis of GIST may have inhibited disease progression and facilitated an improved prognosis. Conclusion: Surgery is not indicted for lung metastases of GIST because of the lack of clinical evidence for a sufficiently improved prognosis. However, surgical treatment in carefully selected cases of lung metastasis of GIST might improve the prognosis when the administration of molecularly targeted therapy is difficult.
