Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST) in children: An update of this orphan disease

Background: Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST) are tumours of the digestive tract that mainly develop in adults. Recommendations for the management of GIST in pediatrics are limited.

Material and methods: We performed an updated review of the literature serving as a basis for the development of diagnostic and therapeutic recommendations for GIST in children and young adults (YA).

Results: GIST in pediatric population can have a sporadic presentation but occur more often in a syndromic and/or familial context. Currently more than 170 cases of sporadic GIST or in association with Carney-Stratakis syndrome or Carney's triad family cases of familial GIST have been described in children and YA. These syndromes are frequently associated with germline or somatic alterations in a sub-unit of Succinate Dehydrogenase (SDH). In contrast, the frequency of somatic KIT and PDGFRα oncogene mutations (±15%) is significantly lower as compared to adults with GIST. The recommendations for the management of children with GIST are generally comparable to those used for adult patients, although certain biological differences influence the therapeutic attitude.

Conclusions: International collaborations have been deployed in order to increase the clinical and biological knowledge of this orphan pathology in pediatrics.