Unraveling the site-specific features in small intestinal stromal tumors: a retrospective study

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are a rare and less well-characterized disease. There is limited information on the clinical features of small intestinal GISTs at different sites.

To enhance the understanding of the clinical characteristics and disease behavior of small intestinal GISTs based on their sites.

We conducted a retrospective review of medical records for 317 patients diagnosed with primary small intestinal GISTs confirmed by surgical pathology, comparing their clinical features and tumor characteristics.

According to this cohort's data, duodenal GISTs presented with longer disease durations and higher prevalence of melena (44.6%), while jejunal GISTs manifested as abdominal masses (11.5%) and acute gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) (13.3%), with the highest rate of emergency surgeries (16.8%). Ileal GISTs were associated with an older age of onset and a higher prevalence of hematochezia (19.6%), with one-third of cases discovered incidentally during gynecological procedures. Notably, the biological behavior of small intestinal GISTs varied significantly by sites. Tumors demonstrated different immunochemical markers and a progressive increase in diameter, mitotic activity, T and M stages, and risk classification from the duodenum to the jejunum and ileum. These findings warrant further validation in prospective multicenter studies.

Small intestinal GISTs might exhibit distinct clinical presentations and oncological features depending on their sites.