Direct endoscopic biopsy for subepithelial tumor larger than 20 mm after removal of overlying mucosa.
OBJECTIVE
An accurate diagnosis of a subepithelial tumor (SET) using endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) without tissue acquisition is difficult. Treatment plan for a SET may be influenced by endoscopic tissue diagnosis. We aimed to clarify the clinical outcomes of direct endoscopic biopsy for SET after removal of the overlying mucosa.


METHODS
We evaluated the medical records of 15 patients. All patients underwent direct endoscopic biopsy for a SET larger than 20 mm (involving proper muscle layer) after removal of the overlying mucosa. The rate of achieving an accurate diagnosis and the treatment decision after the procedure were evaluated.


RESULTS
The patients' mean age was 55.1 ± 14.7 years. The patient population predominantly comprised men (9/15, 60%). The mean tumor size was 24.3 ± 7.8 mm. The mean biopsy number was 3.5 ± 1.7. No major complications occurred with the procedure. The mean procedure time was 15 ± 7.4 min. An accurate diagnosis was achieved in 93.3% of patients (14/15). The main pathological diagnoses after direct endoscopic SET biopsy were leiomyoma (33.3%, 5/15) and ectopic pancreas (33.3%, 5/15) followed by gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) (13.3%, 2/15) and schwannoma (13.3%, 2/15). The treatment plan was influenced by the result of biopsy in 80% of patients (9/15), and unnecessary surgical resection was avoided.


CONCLUSIONS
Direct endoscopic SET biopsy after removal of the overlying mucosa using an endoscopic conventional snare was a useful diagnostic tool with high diagnostic accuracy and low risk of complications.
['Choi|Cheol Woong|CW|', 'Kang|Dae Hwan|DH|', 'Kim|Hyung Wook|HW|', 'Park|Su Bum|SB|', 'Kim|Su Jin|SJ|', 'Hwang|Sun Hwi|SH|', 'Lee|Si Hak|SH|']
D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D001706:Biopsy D019160:Endosonography D005260:Female D005753:Gastric Mucosa D046152:Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors D005773:Gastroscopy D006801:Humans D007889:Leiomyoma D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D056910:Republic of Korea D012189:Retrospective Studies D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
biopsy Subepithelial tumor endoscopic ultrasound gastrointestinal stromal tumor