Differentiation of Small Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor and Gastric Leiomyoma with Contrast-Enhanced CT

The value of multiphase contrast-enhanced CT in differentiating gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) and gastric leiomyomas (GLMs) which were ≤3 cm was evaluated using machine learning.

A retrospective analysis was conducted on 45 cases of small gastric wall submucosal tumors (including 22 GISTs and 23 GLMs) with pathologically confirmed diameter ≤3 cm and completed multiphase CT-enhanced scan images. The CT features including tumor location, maximum diameter, shape, margins, growth pattern, plain/enhanced CT value, cystic degeneration, calcification, ulcer, progressive reinforcement, perilesional lymph nodes, and the CT value ratio of the tumor to the aorta at the same level in the enhanced phase III scan of the two groups were evaluated. Tumor location and maximum diameter were automatically evaluated by machine learning.

The GISTs and GLMs with a diameter ≤3 cm showed clear margins, uniform density on plain scan CT, and progressive homogeneous enhancement. The age of the GISTs is greater than that of the GLMs group. The plain scan CT value of the GISTs group was lower than that in the GLMs group. In the GISTs group, the lesions were mostly located in the fundus (68.18%), showing a mixed growth pattern (54.55%), and in the GLMs group, most lesions were located in the cardia (47.82%), showing an intraluminal growth pattern (95.65%). The abovementioned differences were statistically significant.

Contrast-enhanced CT has limited value in differentiating small GISTs from GLMs, which are ≤3 cm. Older age (>49.0 years), a low plain CT value (<42.5 Hu), mixed growth inside and outside the cavity, and noncardiac location tended to be the criteria for the diagnosis of small GISTs of the gastric wall.