title: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) of the stomach: a multicenter, retrospective study of curatively resected gastric GISTs.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The standard treatment for primary localized gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is surgical resection. The clinical behavior of gastric GIST after surgical resection is extremely variable. We conducted a multicenter, retrospective study of gastric GISTs patients who underwent curative surgical resection to evaluate clinical features and the prognosis of surgically treated gastric GISTs.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a retrospective study on 406 consecutive patients who underwent curative resections for localized gastric GIST at four university hospitals in Daegu, Korea, between March 1998 and March 2012. The retrospectively collected medical records were reviewed with respect to clinical parameters including age, gender, tumor location, surgical approach, and recurrence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 406 patients: 157 males (38.7%) and 249 females (61.3%), with a mean age of 60.8 ± 10.8 (standard deviation) years. The mean tumor size was 4.9 cm (range, 0.3-29 cm). Curative surgical resection was performed in all patients without tumor rupture or spillage. Laparoscopic wedge resections were performed in 156 patients (38.4%) and open resections in 250 patients (61.6%). The tumor size of the laparoscopic wedge resection group was smaller than that of open resection group (3.45 cm vs. 5.46 cm; P < 0.001). There were 11 recurrent cases (2.7%). No recurrence was observed in patients who underwent laparoscopic wedge resections.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Gastric GISTs had a low recurrence rate after curative resection in our series. Laparoscopic gastric wedge resection is feasible for treating gastric GISTs in selected patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Catholic University of Daegu School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: In-Hwan
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Catholic University of Daegu School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: In-Ho
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Statistics, Catholic University of Daegu School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Sang-Gyu
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Kwak
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Yeungnam University College of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Se Won
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Catholic University of Daegu School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun-Dong
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Chae
keywords: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors; Laparoscopy; Prognosis; Stomach