Enucleation of an advanced esophageal gastrointestinal stromal tumor with liver metastasis

Clinical outcomes of endoscopic resection for the treatment of esophageal gastrointestinal stromal tumors: a ten-year experience from a large tertiary center in China

BACKGROUNDS

Esophageal gastrointestinal stromal tumors (E-GISTs) are extremely rare and surgical resection is the recommended approach. However, surgical resection usually causes severe trauma that may result in significant postoperative morbidity. Endoscopic resection (ER) has developed rapidly in recent years and has been widely used in gastrointestinal lesions. Nevertheless, the feasibility and efficacy of ER in the management of E-GISTs are unknown.

METHODS

Retrospective data were collected from January 2011 to December 2020 in a large tertiary center of China. Twenty-eight patients with E-GISTs treated by ER were included in the study.

RESULTS

Of the 28 patients, there were 21 males and 7 females, with a median age of 55 years (40-70 years). The median tumor size was 15 mm (5-80 mm). The technical success rate was 100% (28/28), while the en bloc resection rate was 96.4% (27/28). The median operation time was 35 min (10-410 min). Sixteen (57.2%) tumors were categorized into very low risk group, six (21.4%) into low risk group, and six (21.4%) into high risk group. Pathologists carefully examined margins of each lesion. There were 11 lesions (39.3%) determined as R0 resection and 17 lesions (60.7%) as R1 resection with positive margins. The median hospital stay was 2 days (range, 1-8 days). One patient suffered from hydrothorax and required drainage, leading to a major adverse event rate of 3.6% (1/28). There was no conversion to surgery, and no death occurred within 30 days after the procedure. Imatinib was given to two patients after ER under multidisciplinary team surveillance. During follow-up (median of 54 months, 9-122 months), no recurrences or metastasis were observed.

CONCLUSION

ER is safe and effective for E-GISTs and might become an optional choice in the future. Multicenter, prospective, large samples with long-term follow-up studies are still needed.

Management of esophageal gastrointestinal stromal tumor: review of one hundred seven patients

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are the most common type of gastrointestinal mesenchymal tumor, but are rarely found in the thoracic esophagus. There is no clear consensus about the optimal treatment of this rare disease. A systematic search of the literature was performed for localized esophageal GIST that was resected between 2000 and 2015, and individual patients were included from two major academic institutions. We obtained information on demographics, tumor size and location, mitotic rate, treatment method, and time to recurrence or death. We performed univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses to evaluate the factors associated with recurrence or death. A total of 28 studies met our inclusion and exclusion criteria, and with two patients from two academic institutions, we had a total of 107 patients in the study. Due to lack of uniformity among studies, there were several missing data for different variables. The average patient age was 56 (n = 98) with mostly males (60%, n = 91). The average tumor size on the CT scan was 7.9 ± 5.4 cm (n = 91), located mostly in the distal esophagus (81%, n = 74). A similar number of patients underwent enucleation (n = 47) compared to esophagectomy (n = 42). Approximately half of the patients had a mitotic rate of 0-4 mitosis per 50 high-powered field (48%, n = 80). The median survival time was 73 months with a 5-year disease free survival of 57% (n = 97). Univariate Cox regression analyses showed that a large tumor, undergoing esophagectomy, and a high mitotic rate were associated with poor survival or recurrence control. We found that patients with a lesion smaller than or equal to 5 cm on the CT scan had a better disease-free survival rate than those with a size greater than 5 cm (HR = 12.41, p = 0.014) and had a 5-year survival rate of 92% with 90% of those patients undergoing enucleation (n = 29). Esophageal GIST is a very rare malignancy. The tumor size and mitotic rate of the tumor are associated with poor survival. However, patients with esophageal GIST measuring 5 cm or smaller may be safely treated with esophageal enucleation.

Clinicopathologic Features and Clinical Outcomes of Esophageal Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor: Evaluation of a Pooled Case Series

Clinicopathologic features and clinical outcomes of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) in esophagus are limited, because of the relatively rare incidence of esophageal GISTs. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to investigate the clinicopathologic features and clinical outcomes of esophageal GISTs, and to investigate the potential factors that may predict prognosis.Esophageal GIST cases were obtained from our center and from case reports and clinical studies extracted from MEDLINE. Clinicopathologic features and survivals were analyzed and compared with gastric GISTs from our center.The most common location was lower esophagus (86.84%), followed by middle and upper esophagus (11.40% and 1.76%). The majority of esophageal GISTs were classified as high-risk category (70.83%). Mitotic index was correlated with histologic type, mutational status, and tumor size. The 5-year disease-free survival and disease-specific survival were 65.1% and 65.9%, respectively. Tumor size, mitotic index, and National Institutes of Health risk classification were associated with prognosis of esophageal GISTs. Only tumor size, however, was the independent risk factor for the prognosis of esophageal GISTs. In comparison to gastric GISTs, the distribution of tumor size, histologic type, and National Institutes of Health risk classification were significantly different between esophageal GISTs and gastric GISTs. The disease-free survival and disease-specific survival of esophageal GISTs were significantly lower than that of gastric GISTs.The most common location for esophageal GISTs was lower esophagus, and most of the esophageal GISTs are high-risk category. Tumor size was the independent risk factor for the prognosis of esophageal GISTs. Esophageal GISTs differ significantly from gastric GISTs in respect to clinicopathologic features. The prognosis of esophageal GISTs was worse than that of gastric GISTs.

Esophageal gastrointestinal stromal tumor: is tumoral enucleation a viable therapeutic option?

OBJECTIVE

The primary objective was to evaluate the feasibility of surgical enucleation of esophageal gastrointestinal stromal tumors (E-GISTs). Secondary objectives evaluated (i) the impact of tumor enucleation on oncological outcomes, (ii) the effect of pretherapeutic biopsy on the feasibility of E-GIST enucleation, and (iii) the impact of mucosal ulceration on outcome.

BACKGROUND

E-GISTs are very rare tumors and esophageal resection has been the recommended approach. The feasibility and impact on outcomes of tumor enucleation are unknown.

METHODS

Through a large national multicenter retrospective study, 19 patients with E-GISTs were identified between 2001 and 2010. Patients who underwent either enucleation or esophagectomy were compared.

RESULTS

Of over 19 patients identified with E-GISTs, curative treatment was surgical for 16 patients, with enucleation in 8 and esophagectomy in 8. In the enucleation group, median tumoral diameter was 40 mm (18-65 mm), without any mucosal ulceration, preoperative capsular ruptures, or incomplete resections. In the esophagectomy group, the median tumoral diameter was 85 mm (55-250 mm), with mucosal ulceration in 4 patients, preoperative capsular rupture in 1, and no incomplete resections. Severe postoperative complication rates were 50% and 25% in the esophagectomy and enucleation groups, respectively, with 2 postoperative deaths after esophagectomy. After a median follow-up of 6.4 years, 2 recurrences were observed after esophagectomy versus 0 after enucleation. Endoscopic biopsies did not expose patients to complications or local recurrence after enucleation. Endoscopic mucosal ulceration was associated with more aggressive tumors.

CONCLUSIONS

E-GIST enucleation seems safe for tumors of less than 65 mm in diameter.

Surgical considerations for the management and resection of esophageal gastrointestinal stromal tumors

BACKGROUND

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common sarcoma of the gastrointestinal tract, but occur rarely in the esophagus. Use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors has revolutionized therapy for GISTs but complete resection remains the treatment of choice. Esophageal GISTs require special consideration regarding perioperative treatment, evaluation, and conduct of operation.

METHODS

We report our experience (from 2000 to 2003) with four patients who underwent resection of esophageal GIST, reviewed consensus management guidelines, and performed a literature review for reported cases. Query of the National Cancer Database was made to assess national experience with esophageal GISTs.

RESULTS

All four patients had esophageal GISTs successfully differentiated from leiomyomata by immunohistochemistry on fine needle aspirates obtained during endoscopic ultrasound. At the time of resection all tumors were noted to be adherent to tissues other than submucosa that required resection of esophageal muscularis, periesophageal tissue, or mucosa. All patients were thought to have complete resection and were alive at last contact (median, 33 months). Two of four patients recurred, one of whom underwent esophagectomy; the other patient is alive on imatinib. Seven case reports with median follow-up of three years reported no recurrence with either enucleation or esophagectomy. The National Cancer Database contains 33 cases of esophageal GIST reported since 1999. Nine of 24 patients died within six months of diagnosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Esophagectomy is the treatment of choice for esophageal GISTs but requires attention to operative details that emphasize complete en bloc excision of surrounding tissue. Preoperative imatinib may improve resectability.