Aim: We aimed to investigate the optimal criteria for classifying higher risk forms of gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumor (gGIST).
Materials & methods: A total of 246 high-risk gGIST patients were enrolled. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to determine the association between clinicopathological features and overall survival. Appropriate cut-off values were calculated to identify those at higher risk of gGIST.
Results: Multivariate and univariate analyses revealed that tumor necrosis and mitotic counts are independent risk factors for overall survival. The optimal cut-off value of mitotic counts was 20. Patients with both necrosis and >20 mitoses/50 high-power fields were worse than those with either one.
Conclusion: Tumor necrosis and >20 mitoses/50 high-power fields are independent risk factors for high-risk gGIST. Patients with both risk factors indicate worse prognosis.
Keywords: cut-off value; gastric GIST; high risk; mitotic counts; tumor necrosis.