Clinical Characteristics and Surgical Management of Gastrointestinal Schwannomas

Schwannomas are tumors arising from Schwan cells of the neural sheath. Gastrointestinal schwannomas (GS) are rare and easily confused with a heterogeneous group of neuroectodermal or mesenchymal neoplasms. The aim of the present study is to analyze the clinicopathological features, surgical management methods, and long-term prognoses of GS patients.

Between August 2004 and July 2019, 51 patients with GS were treated at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital. The medical records were reviewed retrospectively. A database containing demographic characteristics, clinical symptoms, imaging tests, operation details, pathological results, and prognoses was constructed and analyzed.

GS accounted for 2.0% of all schwannomas. The cohort comprised 19 men (37.3%) and 32 women (62.7%). The mean age was 55.7 ± 11.4 years. The most common symptom was abdominal pain (29.4%). Twenty-seven patients (52.9%) were asymptomatic and diagnosed incidentally. The most common tumor location of GS was the stomach (90.2%). S-100 had the highest positive rate (100%) in immunohistochemical staining. Forty-six patients (90.2%) were followed-up at a mean period of 49.5 ± 41.4 months. Forty-four patients (95.7%) survived without tumor, 1 patient survived with tumor, and 1 patient died. The 5-year cumulative overall survival rate and cumulative disease-free survival rate were 97.5% and 95.2%, respectively.

GS are rare gastrointestinal tumors with favorable prognoses after surgical resection. Stomach is the most common site. Definitive diagnosis is determined by postoperative pathology. S-100 expression has diagnostic significance.