CHIRURGISCHE GASTROENTEROLOGIE, vol.21, no.3, pp.285-288, 2005 (SCI-Expanded)
Background: Experiences with surgical therapy of stromal tumors of the stomach are presented. Material and Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of the medical and pathologic records of 9 patients who underwent surgical treatment for stromal tumor of the stomach between December 1998 and December 2003 at the Akdeniz University Medical Faculty Hospital. Results: Seven of the patients were women and 2 were men, with a median age of 62 (52 - 75) years. The most common presentation was weight loss and dyspepsia, followed by gastrointestinal bleeding and abdominal pain. Ultrasound and/or CT scan diagnosed the mass in gastric wall in all cases. Definitive preoperative diagnosis of GIST of the stomach was made in none of the patients. All patients underwent surgical resection; wedge resection with clear margins was done in 5 patients (splenectomy and distal pancreatectomy was additonally performed in 1 patient), distal gastrectomy in 3 patients, and total gastrectomy with splenectomy and partial hepatectomy in 1 patient. Regional lymph node dissection was generally restricted to adjacent lymph nodes. There was no postoperative death. Neither radiotherapy nor chemotherapy was given. Follow-up time ranged from 3 to 46 months (median 16 months). All patients, except 1, were alive without evidence of local and distant disease. One of the patients was re-operated for local recurrence 3 years after primary surgery. Conclusion: Complete resection of the stromal tumor of stomach with negative margins provides favorable outcome at least in short follow-up periods.