title: Malignant stromal tumors of the stomach.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this paper is to expose our experience in malignant stromal tumors of the stomach.
  
  
  METHODS
  We present 16 cases of malignant stromal tumors of the stomach, operated on in our hospital from 1977 to 1995. Age, sex, symptoms and signs, standard laboratory tests, diagnostic methods, location, size, infiltration of other organs, proliferating activity, treatment and survival rate are analyzed. Immune staining was performed using the avidin-biotin-peroxidase method, with the S-100 1/8000 and muscular actin 1/50 antiserum. All patients underwent surgical treatment, and neither chemotherapy nor radiotherapy were used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirteen patients died 5 to 78 months after surgery, and the other 3 are alive and free of disease 74, 48 and 38 months after resection, respectively. Five year survival rate was 37.5%. The most important prognostic factors were tumor size, infiltration of neighboring organs and high mitotic index.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  All the clinical data, survival rates and prognostic factors are similar to other published cases. Surgery is the first step in the treatment of these tumors, as the role of other therapeutic options is not well known yet.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Hospital La Paz, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Rodriguez Montes
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Garcia-Sancho Tellez
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Larrauri Martinez
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fernandez de Lis
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Garcia-Sancho Martin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D015996:Survival Rate