RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are specific, generally KIT (CD117)-positive, mesenchymal tumors of the digestive tract displaying KIT or PDGFRA gene mutations. Clinically, they tend to present as solitary tumors of the intestinal wall; more rarely, multiple tumors may occur in one or more organs. OBJECTIVE: to review the morphological, immunohistochemical and molecular features of multiple, non-metastatic forms of GIST. SOURCES: review of the literature on Medline, and authors own experience. CONCLUSIONS: multiples GISTs may occur in three different contexts: as spontaneous lesions (in both adults and children); due to familial GIST syndrome (autosomal dominant inheritance); or in association with specific syndromes (e.g. Carney s triad, Carney-Stratakis syndrome, type I neurofibromatosis). Outside these contexts, the existence of multiple GISTs is deemed to be the result of tumor metastasis, and therefore indicative of advanced-stage disease. Clinicians need to be aware of these variants, whose prognosis and treatment differ.