Late Metastasis of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumour to the Oral Cavity

This report describes the diagnosis and treatment of a metastasis of a gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) to the oral cavity in a 64-year-old female, 14 years after treatment for a gastric primary and 11 years after partial hepatectomy for regional recurrence. The metastasis grew slowly in the buccal soft tissues and became symptomatic by intraoral extension. Positron-emission tomography combined with computed tomography depicted a solitary space-occupying lesion in the right buccal region with high standardized uptake values. Surgical exploration revealed a ball-shaped firm tumour mass adhering to the adjacent tissues that was completely resected. Subsequent healing was uneventful. Six months following ablative surgery the patient was in good general condition. There were neither signs of local tumour recurrence nor further distant spread. However, the patient is now under continuous medication with imatinib. GIST metastases to the head and neck region are very rare. Two recent case reports about head and neck metastases of GIST showed a predilection for bone. This metastasis was solely located in the oral soft tissues.