A new retrospective study emphasized the importance of preoperative evaluation and frequent postoperative follow-up of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) patients. This study was published in the journal Medical Science Monitor.
This close monitoring is particularly important in older male patients and patients with malignant comorbidities. “There is an association between tumor location, size, length of hospital stay, and survival of patients with GISTs,” the authors said.
They found that patient’s sex is an important prognostic factor in GIST. More precisely, they identified the male sex as the strongest poor prognostic factor in their cohort. The probability of survival of a >60-year-old male patient was about 65% after 40 months.
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However, they did not find any correlation between the patient’s sex and the tumor’s primary location (P =.512), mitotic index (P =.786), or size (P =.951).
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They observed a significant correlation between the coexistence of other malignant neoplasm and the probability of patient survival (P <.001).
The patient’s age was found to be correlated with the tumor’s mitotic index (P =.02), but not with the tumor’s primary location (P =.495) or size (P =.233). Younger patients showed higher mitotic index, but they tend to survive longer, regardless of sex.
The patient’s body mass index (BMI) did not influence overall survival (OS) or disease-free survival (DFS). Also, they found no significant association between BMI and the tumor’s primary location (P =.615), mitotic index (P =.674), or size (P =.873).
In addition, they did not report any association between length of hospital stay and OS or DFS. Length of hospital stay did not correlate with the tumor’s primary location (P =.944), mitotic index (P =.148), or size (P =.277). They found that larger tumors were associated with a higher mitotic index (P <.0001).
The study by Zemła et al included 98 patients (mean age, 63.8, age range, 38-90, 51.02% males) diagnosed with GIST (primary location, stomach [71.4%]).
Reference
Zemła P, Stelmach A, Jabłońska B, Gołka D, Mrowiec S. A retrospective study of postoperative outcomes in 98 patients diagnosed with gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) of the upper, middle, and lower gastrointestinal tract between 2009 and 2019 at a single center in Poland. Med Sci Monit. 2021;27:e932809. doi:10.12659/MSM.932809
