Endoscopic Removal of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors in the Stomach: A Single-Center Experience

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Endoscopic removal of GISTs (gastrointestinal stromal tumors) is recently recognized, but less is known about its efficacy and safety. This study is aimed at assessing the feasibility, clinical efficacy, and safety of the endoscopic removal of gastric GISTs. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Endoscopic removal (ER) of GISTs was performed in 134 patients at our hospital between January 2015 and January 2019. The clinical features, surgical outcomes, complications, pathological diagnosis, and risk classification were evaluated retrospectively. RESULTS: ER was successful in 131 cases (98%), including 58 by ESD (endoscopic submucosal dissection), 43 by ESE (endoscopic submucosal excavation), 25 by EFTR (endoscopic full-thickness resection), and 5 by STER (submucosal tunneling endoscopic resection). In addition, GISTs of two cases were resected using LECS (laparoscopic and luminal endoscopic cooperative surgery) for the extraluminal and intraluminal growth pattern. The average tumor size was 1.89 ± 1.25 cm (range: 0.5-6.0 cm). Of these patients, 26 cases had a large tumor size (range: 2.0-6.0 cm), and endoscopic removal was successful in all of them. During the procedure, endoclips were used to close the perforation in all cases, without conversion to open surgery. The average length of hospital stay was 5.50 ± 2.15 days (range: 3-10 days). In the risk classification, 106 (79.7%) were of a very low risk, 25 (18.8%) of a low risk, and 2 (1.5%) of a moderate risk. The moderate-risk cases were treated with imatinib mesylate after ER. No recurrence or metastasis was observed during the follow-up period of 23 ± 8 months (range: 3-48 months). CONCLUSIONS: The endoscopic treatment is feasible, effective, and safe for gastric GISTs, and individualized choice of approaches is recommended for GISTs.