EPIDEMIOLOGICALAND CLINICO-PATHOLOGICALANALYSIS AND OUTCOMES OF EXTRA-INTESTINAL GIST AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN SOUTH INDIA

INTRODUCTION: Extraintestinal GIST (EGIST) is a rare mesenchymal tumor. There is lack of sufficient literature regarding EGISTs. We have undertaken a retrospective observational study to analyze the epidemiology, clinicopathological features and outcomes of EGISTs. METHODS: All patients with the diagnosis of EGIST in the department of Surgical Gastroenterology, SVIMS from January 2015 to December 2019 were included. Patient’s demographics, laboratory and imaging findings, intra-operative findings, tumor pathology and outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS: Fourteen patients were included. Of these, 8 (57.14%) were males. Mean age was 53.43 years. Most patients (85.71%) presented with abdominal pain. Most common site of EGIST was retroperitoneum (50%). Preoperative imaging was diagnostic of GIST of gastro-intestinal origin in all patients. 71.43% tumors were >10cm in size and 50% had >10 mitotic index. Twelve patients underwent radical surgery. All were advised adjuvant therapy. Mean hospital stay was 7.07 days. Median survival was 38.5 months (range 4-60 months). CONCLUSION: EGISTs are more likely to be malignant, large in size, with high mitotic rates. Imaging may not be accurate for diagnosis. Owing to low incidence of EGISTs, multi-center studies are required to study their clinical and pathological behavior.