Abstract

To evaluate the prognostic predictor and clinicopathologic characteristics of the gastrointestinal (GI) mesenchymal neoplasm, we examined 75 cases of GI mesenchymal tumors surgically resected during 8 years from 1983 to 1990. Various histological parameters referrable to the prognosis, including the Ag-NORs count, were analysed. Fifty cases were followed-up for 1 to 7 years. Sixteen out of these fifty cases died during this period. The location of tumor was the stomach in 33 cases, the small intestine in 31 cases and the large intestine in 11 cases, and the tumor size was variable from 2 to 35 cm in diameter. The GI mesenchymal neoplasm appeared as an extraluminal mass in 50 cases, an intramural mass in 17 cases, and an intraluminal mass in 8 cases. Each tumor was composed of spindle or epithelioid cells, the former cell type being more common than the latter (45 vs 30 cases). Mitotic count of the tumor showed the best correlationship with the survival of patients(p<0.05), although the tumor size and necrosis appeared to have some values. The Ag-NORs count was variable and was not significantly correlated with the patient's prognosis(p>0.05). These results indicate that the mitotic count is the most valuable pathological predictor for the prognosis in GI mesenchymal neoplasms.

• Keywords: Gastrointestinal stromal tumor;Prognostic factor;Mitoses;Ag-NORs count;