Objective: To increase our knowledge of the characteristics of rare gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) spinal metastatic diseases and share our experience of dealing with these diseases.
Methods: A total of 6 patients with spinal cord compression caused by GISTs spinal metastases operated in our department were identified from Oct, 2010 to Oct, 2018. The clinical and operative notes, radiographic images, and pathological reports with histochemistry of all these patients were reviewed.
Results: Among these six, four were male. The average age was 57.2 ± 9.0 years-old. The average duration between GISTs resections and diagnosis of spinal metastases was 80.8 ± 91.9 months. Four patients died from their disease during follow-up. The average duration between operation and death was 8.5 ± 4.4 months.
Conclusions: Generally, patients with GISTs spinal metastatic diseases had a poor prognosis. The average survival of these patients did not exceed 12 months. Palliative treatments are recommended mainly to control symptoms.
Keywords: Surgical resection; metastasis; prognosis; spinal cord compression; spinal tumor.