Radical resection versus local excision for low rectal gastrointestinal stromal tumor: A multicenter propensity...

The surgical approaches and resection extent for rectal gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are controversial due to the low incidence of this disease. A multicenter retrospective cohort study was conducted to compare the postoperative and oncologic outcomes of local excision (LE) and radical resection (RR) in patients with low rectal GIST.

The medical records of rectal GIST patients from 11 large-scale medical centers in China (January 2000-December 2019) were reviewed. All patients were divided into either the LE group or the RR group. Propensity score matching (PSM) was conducted to reduce confounders.

A total of 280 patients with low rectal GIST were enrolled. After PSM, 144 patients were included (72 in each group). The LE group showed a higher anal preservation rate (100.0% vs. 76.4%, P < 0.001), shorter operation time (77.1 ± 68.4 min vs. 159.1 ± 83.6 min, P < 0.001), fewer complications (8.3% vs. 22.2%, P = 0.021) and shorter postoperative hospital stay (4.9 ± 4.1 d vs. 10.7 ± 8.1 d, P < 0.001) than the RR group. There was no significant difference in recurrence-free survival (RFS) between the RR and LE groups among patients with tumors ≤2 cm (P = 0.220), and the RR group had a superior RFS than the LE group in patients with tumors >2 cm (P = 0.046).

LE resulted in improved postoperative outcomes and comparable oncological safety with a low rectal GIST of ≤2 cm. However, for patients with a low rectal GIST of >2 cm, RR might be a more appropriate option with better RFS.