Characterization of the epidemiologic, pathologic, radiologic, and management profile of patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs): A 5-year Chilean experience

Introduction and aims

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most frequent mesenchymal neoplastic tumors of the gastrointestinal tract and their expression and management is dependent on their aggressivity. Our aim was to characterize the GISTs diagnosed at our center, analyzing the epidemiologic, anatomopathologic, imaging study, and management variables.

Material and methods

A retrospective, observational cohort study was conducted on adult patients diagnosed with GIST through imaging studies and biopsy, within the time frame of 2017 and 2022 at our center, characterizing the epidemiologic, imaging study, anatomopathologic, and therapeutic data.

Results

Thirty-three patients with a mean age of 59 years were included. The majority of cases were incidental findings (54.5%), and of the symptomatic cases, the most frequent presentation was gastrointestinal bleeding (24%). The most common location was the stomach (19/33 cases), and the most frequent presentation was exophytic (48.5%). In the imaging studies, impregnation was mainly heterogeneous and progressive and 54% had an intrinsic characteristic, with necrosis/cystic areas the most frequent feature. There were no cases of local invasion or distant metastasis. Histologically, the spindle cell type was the most frequent (78.8%) and the majority had fewer than 5 mitoses per high power field. Thirty cases were treated at our center and surgery was the most frequent form of resolution (29/30). No deaths caused by GIST were registered in our case series.

Conclusions

The epidemiologic and imaging study characteristics in our case series were similar to those reported in the literature, but our results were different, with respect to early diagnosis and the low aggressivity of the cases.