Gastrointestinal Autonomic Nerve Tumor of the Colon: A Rare Cause of Persistent Abdominal Pain in a Child.

Abstract

Gastrointestinal autonomic nerve tumor (GANT) is extremely rare and considered a variant of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). GANT originates from the intestinal autonomic nervous system mostly of small intestine or the stomach. We report a colonic GANT diagnosed in a 5-year-old child who presented with abdominal pain and fever for a long period. Colonic resection and end to end anastomosis proved curative without the need of chemo-radiotherapy. Given the rarity of the tumor, the patient is on our long term follow-up.