Background: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, usually kit-positive, that are believed to originate from interstitial cell of Cajal, or their related stem cells. The most common clinical presentation of these tumors is gastrointestinal bleeding, otherwise they may cause intestinal obstruction, abdominal pain, a palpable mass, or can be incidentally detected during surgery or endoscopic/radiological procedures. Prognosis is related to the size of the tumor and to the mitotic rate; other prognostic factors are tumor location, tumor resection margins, tumor rupture, and c-kit mutation that may interfere with molecular target therapy efficacy. Aim: Primary aim of this study was to report our experience regarding GIST patients, correlating symptoms at presentation with tumor localization and risk factors. Patients and methods: 47 consecutive patients undergone to surgical resection for GISTs were enrolled in a prospective study from December 1999 to March 2009. Patient's clinical and pathological features were collected and analysed. Results: The most common symptom was abdominal pain. Bleeding in the digestive tract and abdominal pain were more frequent in gastric GISTs (58% and 61%); acute abdominal symptoms were more frequent in jejunal and ileal GISTs (40% and 60%), p < 0.05. We reported a mild correlation between the mitotic rate index and symptoms at presentation (p 0.074): this correlation was stronger if GISTs causing "acute abdominal symptoms" were compared with GISTs causing "abdominal pain" as main symptom (p 0.039) and with "incidental" GISTs (p 0.022). We observed an higher prevalence of symptomatic patients in the "high risk/malignant group" of both the Fletcher's and Miettines's classification (p < 0.05). Conclusion: According with our findings symptoms correlate to tumor location, to class risk criteria as mitotic index and risk classifications, however we cannot conclude that symptoms are per se predictive of survival or patient's outcome.

Diabetic foot infections (DFIs) are severe complications of long-standing diabetes, and they represent a diagnostic challenge, since the differentiation between osteomyelitis (OM), soft tissue infection (STI), and Charcot’s osteoarthropathy is very difficult to achieve. Nevertheless, such differential diagnosis is mandatory in order to plan the most appropriate treatment for the patient. The isolation of the pathogen from bone or soft tissues is still the gold standard for diagnosis; however, it would be desirable to have a non-invasive test that is able to detect, localize, and evaluate the extent of the infection with high accuracy. A multidisciplinary approach is the key for the correct management of diabetic patients dealing with infective complications, but at the moment, no definite diagnostic flow charts still exist. This review aims at providing an overview on multimodality imaging for the diagnosis of DFI and to address evidence-based answers to the clinicians when they appeal to radiologists or nuclear medicine (NM) physicians for studying their patients.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are mainly located in the stomach and the small bowel, with the duodenum accounting for about 4%. We report the case of a 66-year-old woman with a periampullary GIST of the duodenum that was treated by local excision and direct duodenal wall defect repair. Since no definitive clinical criteria have been established to differentiate malignant from benign mesenchymal tumors, preoperative cytology was not available and surgical removal of the 3.5 cm tumor was feasible, the patient was treated conservatively. The morbidity and mortality rates of the more radical and invasive duodenopancreatectomy, in particular when dealing with a soft pancreatic stump with a narrow pancreatic duct, are, in our opinion, too high for a potentially benign disease when the more conservative procedure is feasible. Four years after surgery the patient is doing well and control CT scan showed the absence of local recurrence.