Assessing prognostic factors of long‐term survival after surgery for colorectal gastrointestinal stromal tumours

Abstract

AimDue to their rarity, the management of colorectal gastrointestinal stromal tumours (CR GISTs) is still under debate. The aim of this study was to assess prognostic factors.MethodWe performed a retrospective review of patients who underwent surgery with curative intent for CR GIST at our centre from 2002 to 2019. Factors associated with overall (OS) and recurrence‐free survival (RFS) were analysed.ResultsFifty‐six patients were included [median age 63 years, 29 (52%) female, 30 (54%) Miettinen high‐risk, 40 (71%) with rectal GIST]. Nineteen (34%) patients received perioperative (neoadjuvant and/or adjuvant) imatinib. All cases of colonic GIST had an R0 resection, compared with 28 (70%) of rectal GISTs. After a median follow‐up of 97 months (interquartile range 48–155 months), 14 (25%) deaths and 14 (25%) recurrences occurred. In the high‐risk cohort, factors associated with improved RFS were R0 resection (OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.1–0.5, p = 0.002) and perioperative imatinib (OR 0.33, 95% CI 0.42–0.97, p = 0.04). Patients who had received perioperative imatinib had longer RFS (60% vs. 11% at 5 years, p = 0.006) but not OS. In rectal GISTs, 5‐year OS was 85% for R0 and 70% for R1 resections (p = 0.164) and 5‐year RFS was 85% for R0 and 12% for R1 resection (p < 0.001). When stratifying patients by perioperative imatinib, there were no differences in OS or RFS in the R0 or R1 groups.ConclusionPerioperative imatinib and R0 resection were associated with improved RFS in high‐risk patients with CR GIST. In patients with rectal GIST, R1 resection was associated with worse RFS irrespective of perioperative imatinib treatment.