Mr Myles Smith was the senior author of the paper ‘Quality of treatment and surgical approach for rectal gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) in a large European cohort’ published in the European Journal of Surgical Oncology, which studied contemporary management of rectal GIST in Europe.

Rectal GISTs are rare tumours, and one of the achievements of this paper was to combine data for five databases, to create one of the largest series of cases published to date. The main findings were, that these challenging cases were treated with multiple modalities, but despite this, the recurrence rate was high after surgery.

The authors also found that aspects of care, were higher quality in specialist centres, such as a lower rate of tumour rupture at surgery. Therefore, the ultimate conclusion of this study was that referral to a specialist centre should be recommended for all patients with rectal GIST.

For more advice, call us on 020 3770 5864 to arrange an appointment at the HCA Lister Hospital or call 020 7808 2785 to book a consultation with Mr Myles Smith at the Royal Marsden.