Laparoscopic atypical resection of subcardial gastric GIST guided by intraoperative endoscopy. A single-center study and a review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. They are 1% of all gastrointestinal cancer and 60% of them affects the stomach. Up to 10% to 30% of GISTs are malignant. They occur in people over the age of 50 in both sexes. The most common symptoms of gastric GIST are bleeding, dyspepsia, vague abdominal pain or discomfort, and mass palpation. Some are asymptomatic and diagnosed incidentally. The first choice of treatment for primary localized gastric GISTs is surgery. The most suitable type of resection is not yet clear and it depends on size and location of tumor, especially for difficult localizations, such as subcardial, posterior wall and less curvature GISTs.

METHODS: We report a rare case of a patient with subcardial gastric GIST treated with laparoscopic atypical quadrangular resection guided by intraoperative endoscopy. Furthermore, we performed a review of the literature about this topic.

RESULTS: Despite the difficult localization an atypical resection of the gastric GIST was performed without breaking the lesion but preserving the lumen of the esofagogastrich junction.

CONCLUSIONS: An atypical quadrangular resection for subcardial gastric GISTs, located along the posterior wall and lesser curvature, can be a safe and reliable alternative technique. However, we believe that it should be performed by an experienced surgeon and endoscopist to decrease the risk of mass's break and the narrowing of the cardial region's lumen. In our literature's knowledge there aren't cases treated with this technique.

KEY WORDS: Gastric GIST, Gastrointestinal stromal tumors, Intraoperative endoscopy, Laparoscopic resection, Minimally invasive surgery.