Laparoscopic Resection of Clinically Suspected Gastric Stromal Tumors

Abstract

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) account for 5% of all gastric tumors. Preoperative diagnosis is relatively difficult because biopsy samples are rarely obtained during fibergastroscopy. Surgical radical resection is the gold standard treatment, allowing pathologic study for both diagnosis and prognosis. Laparoscopic resection has become an alternative to the open approach, but long-term results are not well known. The aim of this study is to report experience with laparoscopic resection, placing special emphasis on preoperative diagnosis and describing long-term results. A retrospective analysis was made of all patients undergoing a laparoscopic resection for clinically suspected gastrointestinal stromal tumors between November 1998 and August 2006 at 2 tertiary hospitals. The medical records of all participants were reviewed regarding surgical technique, clinicopathologic features, and postoperative long-term outcome. Laparoscopic gastric resection was attempted in 22 patients (13 women and 9 men) with a mean age of 66.7 years (range, 29-84 years). One patient had 2 gastric tumors. Tumor localization was upper gastric third in 6 patients, mid-gastric third in 7, and distal third in 10. Surgical techniques were transgastric submucosal excision (n = 1), wedge resection (n = 13), partial gastrectomy with Y-en-Roux reconstruction (n = 6), and total gastrectomy with Y-en-Roux reconstruction (n = 2). Two patients (9.1%) required conversion to the open procedure because of tumor size. Postoperative morbidity was delayed gastric emptying in 3 patients. Median postoperative stay was 6 days (range, 4-32 days). Pathologic and immunohistochemical study confirmed gastrointestinal stromal tumors in 18 cases. The other 4 cases were adenomyoma, hamartoma, plasmocytoma, and parasitic tumor (anisakis). Median tumor size was 5.6 cm (range, 2.5-12.5 cm) in cases of gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Malignant risk of gastrointestinal stromal tumors assessed according to mitotic index and size was low (n = 8), intermediate (n = 6), or high (n = 4). After a median follow-up of 32 months (range, 1-72 months), there was 1 case of recurrence of GIST. Definitive preoperative diagnosis of gastric submucosal tumors is frequently difficult. The laparoscopic approach to surgical treatment of these tumors seems safe and is associated with acceptable intermediate-term results, especially in cases of gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

Gastrointestinal symptomatic outcomes of laparoscopic and open gastrectomy

“…These results are comparable to other published studies [2,6,8,9,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18] . Table 3 shows that those who had a gastroenteric anastomosis performed with gastrectomy had longer length of hospital stay (Mean 9.8 d) compared to those who did not (mean 5.3 d).…”

Laparoscopic management of stomach gastrointestinal tumours

“…In harmony with the previously published literature [18][19][20] our results also support the application of laparoscopic resection in stomach GIST. We were able to achieve tumour-free margin in all the patients with no incidence of intraoperative tumour rupture or spillage.…”

Treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumor: focus on imatinib mesylate

“…All resections had clear margins and the long term disease free survival was 92% (Novitsky et al 2006). In a second series of 22 clinically suspected GISTs, similar fi ndings were shown, with only one case of recurrence (Berindoague et al 2006).…”