[Minimally invasive treatment with function preservation for submucosal tumors in the gastric cardia]

The detection rate of submucosal tumors in the gastric cardia increases year by year. Most of these tumors are benign or borderline tumors, among which leiomyoma and gastrointestinal stromal tumor are more common. The functional preservation of the gastric cardiac region is closely related to the anatomical structure of the esophagogastric junction. The esophageal reflux is mainly evaluated directly or indirectly by upper gastrointestinal radiography, gastroscopy, CT examination and manometric measurements of the lower esophagus. For tumors at this specific region, the risk of lymph node metastasis is very low, and according to the tumor free principle, usually only complete removal of the tumor is required. We aim to introduce the minimally invasive and function preserving procedures, including endoscopic therapy alone, laparoscopic and endoscopic cooperative surgery, and totally laparoscopic surgery. The selection of this tailored treatment should be based on the tumor location, size, shape and growth pattern (intraluminal or extraluminal), and the experience of the surgical team, so as to improve postoperative quality of life of the patients.