Endoscopic management of gastric neuroendocrine tumors

Translation from Spanish to English by T.A. Zuur and The Language Workshop ......................................... Received: 25-01-11 Accepted: 02-08-11 Abstract Introduction: Nowhere in the world is there a clear guide for what we must do for patients with gastric neuroendocrine tumors (gastric NETs). Although mucosectomy is often advised for lesions of less than 1cm in which there are no metastases, some groups advocate surgical management. In addition, it is not clear how treated patients should be followed up. The aim of this study is to describe our experience in the endoscopic management of these patients. Patients and methods: This is a retrospective and descriptive study conducted over a 4 year period at two institutions. Different variables were recorded in a data collection instrument specifi cally designed for this investigation. Data collected included socio-demographic characteristics, clinical presentation of symptoms, endoscopic fi ndings, tests ordered, whether surgical or endoscopic treatment was chosen, descriptions of endoscopic technique used for resection, the number and sizes of lesions, patients’ clinical development and patient outcomes. Results: Altogether the study included 29 gastric NET patients who had a total of 43 lesions. 28 patients had were NET type I tumors while one case was type III. The average age at diagnosis was 55 ± 10 years; 64% were women. 23 patients had tumors in the gastric corpus, 4 in the gastric fundus and 2 in the antrum. 14 patients (17.2%) had pernicious anemia. All 28 patients with type I NETs were treated endoscopically. Endoscopic methods included 17 (60.7%) mucosectomies with loops, 4 (14.2%) mucosal resections with caps, and 7 (25%).mucosectomies with bands. Surveillance of patients from diagnosis to the date of the study averaged 32.5 months (6 47 months). The patient who had been diagnosed with NET III died. The survival rate for patients with type I gastric NETs is 100%. Conclusion: Patients with Type I NETs have excellent prognoses. In this study their survival rate was 100% during the follow-up period. Endoscopic treatment is safe and effective for these patients when the mucosectomy techniques described in the literature are used.