The effect of surgery and grade on outcome of gastrointestinal stromal tumors
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Published on: April 3, 2026
J P Pierie1, U Choudry, A Muzikansky
1Division of Surgical Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Hypothesis:
Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are aggressive, rare, and difficult-to-cure gastrointestinal tumors. We believe that the clinical behavior of these tumors can be predicted by reproducible prognostic factors.
Design And Setting:
A retrospective review of all patients (N = 70) with GIST treated at a tertiary care center from 1973 to 1998.
Patients:
Adequate data for evaluation were available for 69 patients. Male-female distribution was 40:29. Median age was 60 years. Median follow-up duration was 38 months.
Main Outcome Measures:
Tumor grade, stage, and histologic subtype at presentation; effect of grade, surgery and adjuvant therapy on recurrence, salvage, and survival.
Results:
Tumor distribution included 61% in the upper, 23% in the middle, and 16% in the lower digestive tract, with a median tumor size of 7.9 cm (range, 1.8-25 cm). Tumors with more than 1 mitosis per 10 high-power fields constituted 57% of neoplasia in the series. Distant disease at initial visit occurred in 49% of patients. Complete gross resection occurred in 59% of patients. After complete resection, the 5-year survival rate was 42%, compared with 9% after incomplete resection (hazard ratio = 0.27, P<.001). Neither radiation nor chemotherapy demonstrated any significant benefit. Among 39 patients who were disease free after complete resection, 2% developed lymph node recurrence, 25% developed local recurrence, and 33% developed distant recurrences (54% liver, 20% peritoneum). By multivariate analysis the risk of local and/or distant metastases was significantly increased for tumors with more than 1 mitosis and size larger than 5 cm (P<.05). Multivariate analysis in all 69 patients revealed that incomplete resection, age greater than 50 years, non-smooth muscle histological feature, tumor with more than 1 mitosis, and tumor size larger than 5 cm significantly decreased survival.
Conclusion:
Complete gross surgical resection is presently the only means of cure for GIST. Tumors with more than 1 mitosis and a size larger than 5 cm have an especially poor prognosis, with decreased survival, and increased local and/or distant recurrence.
