[Option for different surgeries in treating small gastrointestinal stromal tumors]

To explore the differences in biological characteristics for the small gastrointestinal stromal tumors and the incidence of complications and recurrence between the traditional surgical treatment and endoscopic treatment.
 Methods: We collected the relevant clinical and pathological data from patients who were diagnosed as gastrointestinal stromal tumors with the diameter less than 2 cm by the Department of Pathology of Xiangya Hospital from January 2009 to December 2015. The complications and recurrence after the surgical treatment were analyzed.
 Results: In patients with small gastrointestinal stromal tumors, the proportion of female was higher than that of male (male:female=1:1.69). The median age for patient with this disease was 49 years old and it was more common in middle-aged and elderly. Most lesions were found in the stomach, followed by the esophagus and the small intestine. The small gastrointestinal stromal tumors occurred in the colon and rectum were rare. There was 60.3% (47/78) patients with abdominal pain, 7.7% (6/78) patients with hematochezia or melena, and 98.7% (78/79) with small gastrointestinal stromal tumors' mitotic count ≤5/50 HPF. The positive rates for CD, CD34, DOG-1, actin-smooth, and S-100 were 98.7%, 86.1%, 82.3%, 31.6%, and 24.1%, respectively. Three patients occurred surgical complications, 2 suffered recurrence during the follow-up. There was no significant difference in the incidence of complications and recurrence between the traditional surgical treatment and endoscopic treatment (P>0.05).
 Conclusion: Small gastrointestinal stromal tumors' malignant potential is low, and the recurrence and metastasis rate is low. Its biological behavior tends to be benign. The traditional surgical treatment and endoscopic treatment are both safe and effective for small gastrointestinal stromal tumor. Endoscopic treatment has the advantages in lower cost, shorter hospitalization time, and small trauma. Therefore, endoscopic treatment could be the first choice for small GIST resection under the condition of mature endoscopic technology.