CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL AND IMMUNO-HISTOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF GASTROINTESTINAL STROMAL TUMOUR AT FOUR TERTIARY HEALTH CENTERS IN NIGERIA USING CD117, DOG1, AND HER-2 BIOMARKERS.

INTRODUCTION: Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) are neoplastic lesions that primarily affect the digestive tract and develop from interstitial cells of Cajal. Due to their malignant potential and personalized treatment, these lesions require histopathologic and immunohistochemical characterization. In this investigation, the sex, age, lesional sites of origin, histopathologic types, the prevalence of HER-2 expression, prognostic indices (based on tumour size and mitotic figures), expression of CD117 and DOG1, and characteristics of patients with GIST were all characterized.

METHODOLOGY: This is a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of GIST cases seen at four tertiary healthcare centers in Nigeria over ten years (2008 to 2017) and investigated utilizing histopathological and immunohistochemical (CD117, DOG1, and HER-2) methods.

RESULT: In this study, there were twenty GIST cases. Notably, the majority (40%) of the cases had tumours with sizes between 7.0 and 8.0, the stomach was the most frequent site (70%) and the spindle cell type of GIST was the most prevalent (80%) histopathological type. Additionally, the stomach was significantly associated with GIST as an origin site (with a P value of 0.001), and 100% and 50% of these tumours were immunoreactive with CD117 and DOG1 respectively. Finally, HER-2 immunoreactivity was negatively stained with GIST tumour.

CONCLUSION: In our study, GISTs most frequently develop in the stomach, and CD117& DOG1 are essential for correctly diagnosing these tumours. However, HER-2 immunoreactivity is a predictive marker of survival for personalized care.