Rare Gastrointestinal Tumors: How Often do we Operate on Such Tumors? A Single-Center Study from a Regional Hospital

Lolis ED, Anagnou A, Vogiatzis N, Glossas Athanasoulas IN, Lianeris G and Daskalakis K

Department of General Surgery, General Hospital of Rethymno, Greece
1 Surgical Clinic, General Hospital of Chania “Saint George”, Greece
Department of General Surgery, General Hospital of Volos, Greece

^*Correspondance to: Athina Anagnou 

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Abstract:

Background: Several types of rare tumors, benign and malignant, have infrequently been reported and dealing with them remains a challenge. Rare tumors can occur in every organ and in every age. Methods: Forty-one rare tumors of the gastrointestinal tract were identified in forty patients, operated in a secondary, regional center, over a 15-year period. According to their biological behavior they were divided into three subgroups; benign, with uncertain behavior or low malignancy and malignant. The diagnosis was set by the pathology report. Results: In most cases (61%) the tumor was the cause of surgery. Patient age ranged from 15 to 90 years old (median 61y; mean 58y), and male to female ratio was 1.22:1. Four tumors were benign (9.7%), eighteen were of uncertain behavior or low malignancy (43.9%) and nineteen were malignant (46.4%). Seventeen cases (41.4%) were located in the appendix, nine (22%) in colon, eight (19.5%) in small bowel, three in gallbladder (7.3%) and the rest occurred in stomach, omentum, Vater's ampulla and mesentery (1 case in each). Serious, life-threatening complications occurred in two patients, both with malignant tumors, but middle-aged (45 and 57 years old). Conclusion: Even non-referral centers should reveal their rare cases, so that evidence-based medicine can be achieved in every patient. In most occasions, no guidelines were available and the decision was based on surgeon's knowledge and experience. Surgeons, even in non-referral centers, must be ready to deal with every kind of neoplasm, independent of its frequency and its site.

Keywords:

Gastrointestinal tumors; Rare tumors; Gastric tumors; Small bowel tumors; Appendiceal tumors; Colorectal tumors

Cite the Article:

Lolis ED, Anagnou A, Vogiatzis N, Glossas Athanasoulas IN, Lianeris G, Daskalakis K. Rare Gastrointestinal Tumors: How Often do we Operate on Such Tumors? A Single-Center Study from a Regional Hospital. Clin Oncol. 2023;8:2016..