Extraluminal gastrointestinal stromal tumour in the second portion of the duodenum

The preoperative diagnosis of extraluminal gastrointestinal stromal tumours in the duodenum is difficult to establish due to their rare occurrence and the lack of pathognomonic signs. This report describes the case of a 61-year-old woman who suffered from an immunohistologically confirmed gastrointestinal stromal tumour in the second portion of the duodenum. Preoperative, abdominal, multislice computed tomography showed an extraluminal but intramural tumour located between the head of the pancreas and the duodenum. Rapid postprocessing analysis by three-dimensional, volume-rendered images revealed a strong arterial blood supply and an early draining vessel into the superior mesenteric vein during the portal-venous phase. The combination of endoscopic ultrasonography and non-invasive multislice computed tomography provided an early suggestion of gastrointestinal stromal tumour.