Current Status of Endoscopic Ultrasonography in Gastrointestinal Subepithelial Tumors

Gastrointestinal subepithelial tumors (GSTs) are usually detected incidentally on endoscopic or radiologic examinations. In conventional endoscopy, a GST usually presents as a protuberant lesion with an intact mucosal surface. As the lesion is located beneath the mucosal layer of the gastrointestinal tract, conventional biopsy typically does not reveal the pathologic diagnosis. First, a GST should be differentiated from an extrinsic compression through the positional change of the patient during conventional endoscopic examination. In cases of GSTs originating from the gastrointestinal wall, endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) can be beneficial for narrowing the differential diagnosis through delineation of echo findings and by determining the layer of origin. EUS findings can also help determine the management strategies for GSTs by making a differential diagnosis according to malignant potential.