To investigate the frequency, management, and consequences of gastrointestinal stromal tumors in thirty patients treated and followed up at a single site.
All gastrointestinal stromal tumor patients admitted to our institution from 2008 to 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Demographics, clinical findings, and tumor features, pathological, radiological, and immunohistochemical observations, surgical technique, recurrence, and mortality were documented.
Thirty patients were selected for this study, the primary tumor locations were the stomach (46.7%) and small intestine (43.3%). Five (16.7%) gastrointestinal stromal tumors were classified as high risk for relapse, seven (23.3%) as intermediate risk and eighteen (60.0%) as low risk. Imatinib (400 mg/day) treatment was started postoperatively in 12 patients (7 patients with intermediate risk and five patients with high risk). With a median follow-up of 35.5 ± 12.9 months (range 2-54) twenty-four patients (80%) were disease free, while 5 had a local recurrence (16.7%), and a single patient died from hepatic metastasis (3.3%). The disease-free survival rate was 68% at 4 years.
In this study, the mitotic index and tumor size were found to be statistically significant regarding prognosis. A combination of targeted therapy and surgery is recommended for recurrent and metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors.