{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,2]],"date-time":"2026-07-02T11:43:21Z","timestamp":1782992601750,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":9,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"13","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,29]],"date-time":"2026-06-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782691200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Inflammatory fibroid polyp (IFP) or Vanek\u2019s tumor is a rare benign submucosal lesion of the gastrointestinal tract that may radiologically mimic mesenchymal gastric tumors, particularly gastrointestinal stromal tumors. We present the case of a 65-year-old patient with a contrast-enhancing gastric submucosal mass detected on computed tomography, initially interpreted as a suspected mesenchymal neoplasm. CT imaging demonstrated a well-defined enhancing lesion arising from the gastric wall without evidence of metastatic disease. Surgical resection was performed because imaging findings were considered highly suggestive of GIST. Gross intraoperative appearance and pathological examination, however, established the final diagnosis of gastric inflammatory fibroid polyp (Vanek\u2019s tumor). Histopathological analysis demonstrated characteristic spindle-cell proliferation with inflammatory eosinophil-rich infiltrates, while immunohistochemistry excluded GIST. This case highlights the diagnostic challenge in differentiating IFP from other gastric submucosal neoplasms based solely on imaging findings and emphasizes the importance of histopathological confirmation for definitive diagnosis.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics16132035","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T00:55:11Z","timestamp":1782780911000},"page":"2035","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Submucosal Gastric Mass Mimicking GIST: Final Diagnosis of Vanek\u2019s Tumor"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Ljubica","family":"Lazic","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Radiology and Magnetic Resonance Imaging, University Clinical Centre of Serbia, Pasterova No. 2, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7525-7615","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Milica","family":"Mitrovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Radiology and Magnetic Resonance Imaging, University Clinical Centre of Serbia, Pasterova No. 2, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Dr Subotica No. 8, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anja","family":"Zugic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinic for Digestive Surgery, University Clinical Centre of Serbia, Koste Todorovica Street, No. 6, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0812-2438","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zeljko","family":"Grubac","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinic for Digestive Surgery, University Clinical Centre of Serbia, Koste Todorovica Street, No. 6, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Katarina M.","family":"Eric","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology, First University Surgical Clinic, University Clinical Centre of Serbia, Koste Todorovica Street, No. 6, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nenad","family":"Ivanovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Dr Subotica No. 8, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Clinic for Digestive Surgery, University Clinical Centre of Serbia, Koste Todorovica Street, No. 6, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5796-835X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aleksandra","family":"Djuric-Stefanovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Radiology and Magnetic Resonance Imaging, University Clinical Centre of Serbia, Pasterova No. 2, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Dr Subotica No. 8, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ognjan","family":"Skrobic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Dr Subotica No. 8, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Clinic for Digestive Surgery, University Clinical Centre of Serbia, Koste Todorovica Street, No. 6, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Keramatollah","family":"Ebrahimi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Dr Subotica No. 8, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Clinic for Digestive Surgery, University Clinical Centre of Serbia, Koste Todorovica Street, No. 6, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"70","DOI":"10.1053\/j.semdp.2006.09.001","article-title":"Gastrointestinal stromal tumors: Pathology and prognosis at different sites","volume":"23","author":"Miettinen","year":"2006","journal-title":"Semin. Diagn. Pathol."},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"257","article-title":"Gastrointestinal stromal tumors: Imaging findings","volume":"44","author":"Nonose","year":"2011","journal-title":"Radiol. Bras."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"349","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2559.1978.tb01727.x","article-title":"Inflammatory fibroid polyp of the gastrointestinal tract","volume":"2","author":"Johnstone","year":"1978","journal-title":"Histopathology"},{"key":"ref_4","first-page":"508","article-title":"Vanek\u2019s tumor (inflammatory fibroid polyp). Report of 18 cases and comparison with gastrointestinal stromal tumors","volume":"443","author":"Daum","year":"2003","journal-title":"Virchows Arch."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"479","DOI":"10.1111\/den.12149","article-title":"Submucosal tumors: Comprehensive guide for the diagnosis and therapy of gastrointestinal submucosal tumors","volume":"25","author":"Nishida","year":"2013","journal-title":"Dig. Endosc."},{"key":"ref_6","first-page":"497","article-title":"Gastric inflammatory fibroid polyp mimicking a gastrointestinal stromal tumor","volume":"108","author":"Silva","year":"2016","journal-title":"Rev. Esp. Enferm. Dig."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"81","DOI":"10.21873\/invivo.12235","article-title":"Inflammatory fibroid polyp of the gastrointestinal tract: A systematic review for a benign tumor","volume":"35","author":"Garmpis","year":"2021","journal-title":"In Vivo"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"308","DOI":"10.1186\/s40792-020-00980-0","article-title":"Rare case of gastric inflammatory fibroid polyp located at the fornix mimicking gastric cancer","volume":"6","author":"Kawai","year":"2020","journal-title":"Surg. Case Rep."},{"key":"ref_9","first-page":"e8482","article-title":"Gastric inflammatory fibroid polyp: A rare cause of occult upper gastrointestinal bleeding","volume":"12","author":"Inayat","year":"2020","journal-title":"Cureus"}],"container-title":["Diagnostics"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2075-4418\/16\/13\/2035\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,2]],"date-time":"2026-07-02T10:46:39Z","timestamp":1782989199000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2075-4418\/16\/13\/2035"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,29]]},"references-count":9,"journal-issue":{"issue":"13","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]}},"alternative-id":["diagnostics16132035"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/diagnostics16132035","relation":{},"ISSN":["2075-4418"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2075-4418","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,29]]}}}