Natural Course and Long-Term Outcomes of Gastric Subepithelial Lesions: A Systematic Review
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Methods
3. Results
3.1. Search Results
3.2. Growth Rates of Gastric SELs During Follow-Up
3.3. Doubling Time of Gastric SELs
3.4. Risk Factors for Size Increase in Gastric SELs
3.5. Limitations
4. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
SELs | Subepithelial lesions |
GISTs | Gastrointestinal stromal tumors |
EUS | Endoscopic ultrasound |
References
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1. Mesenchymal Tumors: |
Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST); |
Leiomyoma; |
Leiomyosarcoma; |
Schwannoma; |
Glomus tumor. |
2. Ectopic or Heterotopic Tissues: |
Ectopic pancreas (heterotopic pancreas); |
Heterotopic spleen (splenosis). |
3. Cystic Lesions: |
Duplication cyst; |
Retention cyst, including submucosal cysts associated with H. pylori gastritis. |
4. Vascular Lesions: |
Hemangioma; |
Lymphangioma. |
5. Inflammatory or Reactive Lesions: |
Inflammatory fibroid polyp (Vanek’s tumor); |
Anisakiasis. |
6. Neuroendocrine and Other Neoplasms: |
Neuroendocrine tumor; |
Granular cell tumor; |
Lipoma; |
Gastric cancer mimicking subepithelial tumor; |
Lymphoma; |
Metastatic tumor. |
7. Others: |
Varices (e.g., gastric varices); |
Pseudo-lesions (e.g., submucosal hematoma, extramural compression). |
No. | Author | Year | No. Lesions | Study Design | Type of Lesions | Follow-Up Method | Follow-Up Period | Definition of Size Increase | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Melzer E | 2000 | 16 | NA | <40 mm SELs | EUS | 16.7 months (mean) | Increase in size (≥25%) | 25.0% |
2 | Sawaki A | 2006 | 16 | Retrospective | GISTs diagnosed by EUS-FNA | EUS and EGD | 4.9 years (median) | Increase in size (≥20%) | 11.1% |
3 | Lachter J | 2008 | 70 | Retrospective | Pathologically diagnosed GISTs | EUS | 5.4 years (mean), 5 years (median) | Increase in size (>1 mm/month) | 20.0% |
4 | Gill KR | 2009 | 51 | Retrospective | <30 mm SELs of second and fourth echo layer | EUS | 29.7 months (mean) | Increase in size or change in echogenic features | 13.7% |
5 | Bruno M | 2009 | 49 | Prospective | <30 mm SELs of fourth echo layer | EUS | 31 months (mean) | Increase in size (≥25%) | 10.2% |
6 | Lok KH | 2009 | 23 * | Retrospective | SELs of fourth echo layer | EUS | 17.3 months (mean) | Increase in size (≥5 mm) | 13.0% * |
7 | Lim YJ | 2010 | 130 | Retrospective | SELs | EUS and EGD | 59.1 mo (mean) * | Increase in size (≥ 5 mm and >25%) | 5.4% |
8 | Chien CH | 2010 | 9 | Retrospective | GISTs suspected on EUS | EUS | 23 months (mean) | Increase in size (>5 mm) | 11.1% |
16 | Retrospective | GISTs suspected on EUS | EGD | 28 months (mean) | Increase in size (>5 mm) | 6.3% | |||
9 | Kim MY | 2011 | 989 | Retrospective | ≤30 mm SELs of second–fourth echo layer | EUS | 24 months (median) | Increase in size, change in echogenicity, or morphology | 8.5% |
10 | Fang YJ | 2012 | 50 | Retrospective | <30 mm SELs | EUS | 39.2 months (mean) | Increase in size (≥20%) | 28.0% |
11 | Hata S | 2013 | 50 | Retrospective | SELs of second or fourth echo layer | EUS | 24.3 months (mean) | Increase in size (>3 mm) | 28.0% |
12 | Song JH | 2015 | 640 | Retrospective | SELs | EGD | 47.3 months (mean) * | Increase in size (≥25%) | 4.2% |
13 | Koizumi S | 2016 | 47 | Retrospective | Pathologically diagnosed SELs | EUS | 31.7 months (median) * | NA ** | NA ** |
14 | Gao Z | 2017 | 69 | Retrospective | ≤20 mm SELs of second–fourth echo layer | EUS | 28 months (mean) | Increase in size (≥20%) | 23.2% |
15 | Hu ML | 2017 | 88 | Retrospective | 10–30 mm myogenic tumors | EUS | 26.3 months (mean) | Increase in size (≥20%) | 28.4% |
16 | Ye LS | 2020 | 410 | Retrospective | ≤20 mm SELs of second–fourth echo layer | EUS | 28 months (median) | Increase in size, not specified | 2.0% |
17 | Abe K | 2022 | 824 | Retrospective | ≤20 mm SELs | EGD | 5 years (median) | Increase in size (≥20%) | 8.5% |
18 | Shiratori W | 2023 | 145 | Retrospective and prospective | GIMTs evaluated by EUS | EUS | 5.2 years (mean) | Increase in size (≥25%) | 26.9% |
19 | Choe Y | 2023 | 135 | Retrospective | SELs | EUS and EGD | 52 mo (median) | Resection due to increase in size | 14.8% |
20 | Iwamuro M | 2024 | 560 | Prospective | ≤20 mm SELs | EGD | 4.6 years (mean) | Increase in size (≥5 mm) | 5.7% |
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Iwamuro, M.; Okada, H.; Otsuka, M. Natural Course and Long-Term Outcomes of Gastric Subepithelial Lesions: A Systematic Review. J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14, 1055. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14041055
Iwamuro M, Okada H, Otsuka M. Natural Course and Long-Term Outcomes of Gastric Subepithelial Lesions: A Systematic Review. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2025; 14(4):1055. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14041055
Chicago/Turabian StyleIwamuro, Masaya, Hiroyuki Okada, and Motoyuki Otsuka. 2025. "Natural Course and Long-Term Outcomes of Gastric Subepithelial Lesions: A Systematic Review" Journal of Clinical Medicine 14, no. 4: 1055. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14041055
APA StyleIwamuro, M., Okada, H., & Otsuka, M. (2025). Natural Course and Long-Term Outcomes of Gastric Subepithelial Lesions: A Systematic Review. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 14(4), 1055. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14041055