Page 99 - IMO-2-1

Innovative Medicines & Omics

CASE REPORT
Rare subdural hematoma in a patient treated

with avapritinib for gastrointestinal stromal
tumor: A case report

4,5
2
3
Syed M. Imam , Faryal Haider , Rafiq J. Baksh , and Syed A. A. Rizvi *
1
1 HCA Northside Hospital, USF Morsani College of Medicine, St Petersburg, Florida, United States
of America
2 The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education, Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States of
America
3 Maimonides Midwood Community Hospital, Brooklyn, New York, United States of America
4 College of Biomedical Sciences, Larkin University, Miami, Florida, United States of America
5 Division of Clinical and Translational Research, Larkin Community Hospital, Miami, Florida, United
States of America

Abstract

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal
malignancy of the digestive tract, accounting for 1% of all digestive tract
malignancies. GISTs occur most frequently in the stomach, followed by the
small intestine and colorectum, and rarely in the mesentery, omentum, and
retroperitoneum. Avapritinib’s approval for GISTs in 2020 marks a milestone in
precision oncology, showing its significant antitumor activity against the resistant
*Corresponding author:
Syed A. A. Rizvi platelet-derived growth factor receptor-alpha D842V mutation. It has a manageable
(srizvi@larkin.edu; srizvi@ safety profile, with dose adjustments for mitigating side effects without reducing
larkinhospital.com) efficacy. Avapritinib-induced subdural hematomas are rare but potentially lethal
Citation: Imam SM, Haider F, complications. Our patient had a metastatic small bowel GIST and liver metastases
Baksh RJ, Rizvi SAA. Rare and began avapritinib treatment in January 2024. He had a stable condition until
subdural hematoma in a patient
treated with Avapritinib for early May. He presented with acute encephalopathy, altered mentation, and left
gastrointestinal stromal tumor: subdural hematoma, which was suspected to be caused by avapritinib, resulting in
A case report. Innov Med Omics. its discontinuation. Despite receiving diligent care, the patient’s condition did not
2025;2(1):93-97.
doi: 10.36922/imo.7068 improve, and he eventually died.
Received: October 8, 2024
Revised: December 5, 2024 Keywords: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors; Chemotherapeutics; Novel targets; Side
Accepted: December 20, 2024
Published online: January 9, 2025 effects; Subdural hematomas
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s).
This is an Open-Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution 1. Introduction
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, Metastatic small bowel gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are rare (5 – 20 cases/
provided the original work is
properly cited. million) but highly aggressive malignancies originating from the soft tissues supporting
the digestive system, particularly the small intestine. They originate from the interstitial
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
1
Publishing remains neutral with cells of Cajal, which regulate gut peristalsis. Until recently, metastatic small bowel
regard to jurisdictional claims in GISTs were usually diagnosed at a very advanced disease stage, when the cancer had
published maps and institutional
affiliations. spread to other organs such as the liver, lungs, or peritoneum. Traditional treatments

Volume 2 Issue 1 (2025) 93 doi: 10.36922/imo.7068