Long-term prognosis of small gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors with high histological grade: a longitudinal nested cohort study.

Abstract

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are mostly seen in the stomach. Clinical data on GISTs ≤ 2cm with > 5 mitosis/50 HPFs are limited. This study aimed to analyze small GISTs with high histological grades to gain a more comprehensive understanding of their clinical characteristics with long-term follow-up. This was a nested cohort study of patients with gastric GISTs ≤ 2cm and > 5 mitosis/50 HPFs. Individuals with endoscopically resected gastric specimens diagnosed as GISTs between January 2008 and July 2019 were enrolled. We analyzed baseline clinicopathological characteristics, perioperative characteristics, risk of recurrence, and metastasis during follow-up. A total of 55 patients diagnosed with gastric GISTs ≤ 2cm and > 5 mitosis/50 HPFs were enrolled. The mean tumor size was 1.6±0.4cm (median 1.7cm, range 0.8-2.0cm). ESD was performed in 33 patients (60.0%) and EFTR in 22 patients (40.0%). Mean mitotic figures were 8.9/50 HPFs. Postoperative bleeding in one patient (1.8%) was the only severe adverse event. The mean follow-up period was 61.2±33.9months (median 53months, range 13-133months). Five patients (5/55, 9.1%) received additional therapies, including partial gastrectomy and adjuvant Imatinib. Only two patients (2/55, 3.6%) showed signs of recurrence. We observed no significant difference regarding baseline clinical characteristics and recurrence among GISTs with mitosis < 10/50 HPF and ≥ 10/50 HPF. No patient had signs of metastasis during follow-up. Endoscopic resection of gastric GISTs ≤ 2cm with > 5 mitosis/50 HPFs has a low risk of recurrence and metastasis in the long term. Endoscopic resection of GISTs is safe and feasible.