Journal List > Korean J Gastroenterol > v.64(4) > 1007282

Cha, Oh, Yoo, Hong, Lee, Kim, Ha, Kim, Kim, and Lee: Predictive Factors of Subepithelial Tumor and Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor in the Patients with Upper Gastrointestinal Subepithelial Lesions

Abstract

Background/Aims

Differentiating subepithelial tumor (SET) from non-neoplastic gastrointestinal subepithelial lesion (SEL) and gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) from leiomyoma are very important for proper management. This study was conducted to analyze factors that could predict the presence of SET and GIST in patients with upper gastrointestinal (UGI) SELs.

Methods

A total of 527 patients were diagnosed with UGI SELs endosonographically at Gyeongsang National University Hospital from January 2008 to June 2013. Among these patients, histologic diagnosis was made in 84 patients. Data were collected by retrospectively reviewing the medical records. Variables that could differentiate neoplastic from non-neoplastic SELs and GIST from leiomyoma were analyzed.

Results

Among 84 patients with SELs, 64 (76.2%) had SETs including GIST (42.9%) and leiomyoma (19.0%). The patients’ mean age (p=0.047), peak age distribution (p=0.047), proportions of patient ≥50 years (p=0.015), and number of proper muscle-originated lesions (p=0.001) were higher in neoplastic than non-neoplastic group. There were no significant differences in gender (p=0.195), size (p=0.266) and echogenicity (p=0.051) of the lesions. Older age (57.7 vs. 47.0 years, p=0.049), age ≥50 years (p=0.016), location in gastric body (p<0.001), and proper muscle origin (p=0.003) were significantly related to the presence of GIST compared to leiomyoma. Multiple regression analysis showed that the patients’ age ≥50 years, size ≥30 mm, and proper muscle-origin of lesion were independent predictors of SET; however, there were no predictive factors that could differentiate GIST from leiomyoma.

Conclusions

In patients with SEL, the possibility of having SET should be considered for patients ≥50 years with UGI SELs ≥30 mm that arise from the proper muscle. Thorough monitoring and aggressive management is warranted for those with gastric muscular SET since factors predictive of GIST are lacking.

References

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Fig. 1.
Flow chart of patients with upper gastrointestinal subepitelial lesion. Among a total 527 patients with upper gastrointestinal (UGI) subepithelial lesion (SEL) evaluated endosonographically, 84 underwent endoscopic or surgical resection of the lesion and confirmative histological diagnosis was made. Sixty-four (76.2%) patients had neoplastic lesions (subepithelial tumor) including gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), leiomyoma, carcinoid tumor, granular cell tumor (GCT), and neurilemmo-ma. The remaining 20 patients had non-neoplastic lesions such as hete-rotopic pancreas, inflammatory fibroid polyp (IFP), lipoma, and cyst.
kjg-64-189f1.tif
Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics of All Patients with Upper Gastrointestinal (UGI) Subepithelial Lesions (SEL) and Those with Histologically Confirmed Upper UGI SEL
Characteristic No. of cases
Total UGI SEL (n=527) Histologically confirmed SEL (n=84)
Age (yr) 52.7±12.8 (16–83) 52.2±14.3 (20–83)
Gender    
 Male 219 (41.6) 40 (47.6)
 Female 308 (58.4) 44 (52.4)
Symptom    
 Asymptomatic 457 (86.7) 68 (80.9)
 Dyspepsia 61 (11.6) 10 (11.9)
 Abdominal pain 6 (1.1) 3 (3.6)
 Bleeding 3 (0.6) 3 (3.6)
Location    
 Esophagus 26 (4.9) 7 (8.3)
 Stomach 486 (92.2) 76 (90.5)
  EGJ 47 (8.9) 7 (8.3)
  Fundus 62 (11.8) 10 (11.9)
  Body 242 (45.9) 40 (47.6)
  Antrum 135 (25.6) 19 (22.6)
 Duodenum 15 (2.8) 1 (1.2)
Size of lesion (mm) 11.0 (3–79) 20.0 (5–60)
 <10 111 (21.1) 10 (11.9)
 ≥10, <30 369 (70.0) 46 (54.8)
 ≥30, <50 38 (7.2) 21 (25.0)
 ≥50 9 (2.8) 7 (8.3)
Echogenicity    
 Homogenous 495 (93.9) 81 (96.4)
  Hyperechoic 18 (3.4) 5 (6.0)
  Isoechoic 7 (1.3) 2 (2.4)
  Hypoechoic 470 (89.2) 74 (88.1)
 Heterogenous 14 (2.7) 3 (3.6)
 Anechoic 18 (3.4) 0 (0)
Originating layer    
 Muscularis mucosa 39 (7.4) 13 (15.5)
 Submucosa 194 (36.8) 14 (16.7)
 Muscularis propria 294 (55.8) 57 (67.9)
Treatment modality    
 Surgery - 54 (64.3)
 Endoscopic resection - 30 (35.7)
Histology    
 Neoplastic - 64 (76.2)
 Non-neoplastic - 20 (23.8)

Values are presented as mean±SD (range), n (%), or median (range). EGJ, esophagogastric junction.

Table 2.
Histologic Diagnosis and Location of 84 Patients with Upper Gastrointestinal Subepithelial Lesions
Histologic diagnosis Location
Esophagus (n=7) Stomach
Duodenum (n=1)
EGJ (n=7) Fundus (n=10) Body (n=40) Antrum (n=19) Total (n=76)
Neoplastic lesion (n=64) 7 7 7 32 11 57 0
 Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (n=36) 0 0 5 23 8 36 0
 Leiomyoma (n=16) 6 6 1 3 0 10 0
 Carcinoid tumor (n=5) 1 0 0 3 1 4 0
 Granular cell tumor (n=4) 0 1 0 2 1 4 0
 Neurilemmoma (n=3) 0 0 1 1 1 3 0
Non-neoplastic lesion (n=20) 0 0 3 8 8 19 1
 Heterotopic pancreas (n=11) 0 0 0 4 6 10 1
 Inflammatory fibroid polyp (n=4) 0 0 1 2 1 4 0
 Lipoma (n=3) 0 0 0 2 1 3 0
 Cyst (n=2) 0 0 2 0 0 2 0

EGJ, esophagogastric junction.

Table 3.
Comparison of Clinical and Ultrasonographic Characteristics of Neoplastic and Non-neoplastic Subepithelial Lesions
Characteristic Neoplastic lesion (n=64) Non-neoplastic lesion (n=20) p-value
Age (yr) 53.9±13.7 44.0±15.1 0.037
 <30 1 (1.6) 3 (15.0) 0.047
 30-39 9 (14.1) 5 (25.0)  
 40-49 12 (18.8) 6 (30.0)  
 50-59 19 (29.7) 3 (15.0)  
 60-69 13 (20.3) 2 (10.0)  
 ≥70 10 (15.6) 1 (5.0)  
 <50 22 (34.4) 14 (60.0) 0.005
 ≥50 42 (65.6) 6 (30.0)  
Gender     0.195
 Male 31 (48.4) 13 (65.0)  
 Female 33 (51.6) 7 (35.0)  
Location of lesion     0.041
 Esophagus 7 (10.9) 0 (0.0)  
 Esophagogastric junction 7 (10.9) 0 (0.0)  
 Gastric fundus 7 (10.9) 3 (15.0)  
 Gastric body 32 (50.0) 8 (40.0)  
 Gastric antrum 11 (17.2) 8 (40.0)  
 Duodenum 0 (0.0) 1 (5.0)  
Size of lesion (mm) 21.4 (6–65) 19.0 (5–60) 0.266
 <10 8 (12.7) 2 (15.0)  
 ≥10, <30 36 (55.6) 10 (70.0)  
 ≥30, <50 15 (25.4) 6 (5.0)  
 ≥50 5 (6.3) 2 (10.0)  
 <30:≥30 44 (68.8): 17 (85.0): 0.155
  20 (31.2) 3 (15.0)  
Echogenicity     0.064
 Homogenous 63 (98.4) 18 (90.0)  
  Hyperechoic 2 (3.1) 3 (15.0)  
  Isoechoic 2 (3.1) 0 (0.0)  
  Hypoechoic 59 (92.2) 15 (75.0)  
 Heterogenous 1 (1.6) 2 (10.0)  
Originating layer     0.001
 Muscularis mucosa 6 (9.3) 7 (35.0)  
 Submucosa 7 (11.0) 7 (35.0)  
 Muscularis propria 51 (79.7) 6 (30.0)  

Values are presented as mean±SD, n (%), or median (range).

Table 4.
Univariate and Multivariate Analysis on Predictive Factors That Could Differentiate Neoplastic from Non-neoplastic Subepithelial Lesions
Variable Univariate analysis
Multivariate analysis
OR (95% CI) p-value OR (95% CI) p-value
Age (yr)        
 <50 (n=20) 1   1  
 ≥50 (n=48) 3.55 0.019 6.25 0.036
  (1.24-10.17)   (1.13-34.58)  
Gender        
 Female (n=28) 1   1  
 Male (n=40) 1.98 0.200 1.50 0.607
  (0.70-5.60)   (0.32-6.96)  
Size (mm)        
 <30 (n=40) 1   1  
 ≥30 (n=28) 2.58 0.165 8.84 0.041
  (0.68-9.80)   (1.09-71.78)  
Location   0.688   0.846
Echogenicity   0.126   0.268
Originating layer   0.001   0.004
 MM (n=13) 1   1  
 SM (n=14) 1.17 0.842 0.61 0.675
  (0.26-5.29)   (0.06-6.02)  
 PM (n=57) 9.92 0.001 13.50 0.017
  (2.50-39.42)   (1.58-115.53)  

MM, muscularis mucosa; SM, submucosa; PM, proper muscle.

Table 5.
Comparison of the Clinical and Ultrasonographic Characteristics of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST) and Leiomyoma
Characteristic GIST (n=36) Leiomyoma (n=16) p-value
Age (yr) 57.7±14.4 47.0±10.1 0.049
 <50 8 (22.2) 9 (56.3) 0.016
 ≥50 28 (77.8) 7 (43.8)  
Gender     0.548
 Male 17 (47.2) 7 (43.8)  
 Female 19 (52.8) 9 (56.3)  
Location     <0.001
 Esophagus 0 (0.0) 6 (37.5)  
 Stomach 36 (77.8) 10 (62.6)  
  EGJ 0 (0.0) 6 (37.5)  
  Fundus 5 (13.9) 1 (6.3)  
  Body 23 (63.9) 3 (18.8)  
  Antrum 8 (22.2) 0 (0.0)  
 Duodenum 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0)  
Size of tumor (mm) 25.1 (7–65) 19.0 (3–57) 0.088
 <10 1 (2.8) 3 (18.8)  
 ≥10, <30 22 (61.1) 8 (50.0)  
 ≥30, <50 12 (33.3) 3 (18.8)  
 ≥50 1 (2.8) 2 (12.5)  
 <30:≥30 23 (63.9): 11 (68.8): 0.734
  13 (36.1) 5 (31.2)  
Echogenosity     0.142
 Hyperechoic 1 (2.8) 0 (0.0)  
 Isoechoic 0 (0.0) 2 (12.5)  
 Hypoechoic 34 (94.4) 14 (87.5)  
 Heterogenous 1 (2.8) 0 (0.0)  
Originating layer     0.007
 Muscularis mucosa 0 (0.0) 4 (25.0)  
 Muscularis propria 36 (100) 12 (75.0)  

Values are presented as mean±SD, n (%), or median (range).

EGJ, Esophagogastric junction.

Table 6.
Univariate and Multivariate Analysis on Predictive Factors That Could Differentiate Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor from Leiomyoma
Variable Univariate analysis
Multivariate analysis
OR (95% CI) p-value OR (95% CI) p-value
Age (yr)        
 <50 (n=17) 1      
 ≥50 (n=35) 4.50 0.020   0.998
  (1.27-15.90)      
Gender        
 Female (n=28) 1      
 Male (n=24) 0.70 0.549   1.000
  (0.21-2.28)      
Size (mm)        
 <30 (n=34) 1      
 ≥30 (n=18) 1.24 0.734   1.000
  (0.35-4.37)      
Location   0.998   1.000
Echogenicity   1.000   1.000
Originating layer        
 MM (n=4) 1   1  
 PM (n=48) 15.91 0.016   0.999
  (1.67-151.15)      

MM, muscularis mucosa; PM, proper muscle.

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