Zhang PC, Wang SH, Li J, Wang JJ, Chen HT, Li AQ. Clinicopathological features and treatment of gastrointestinal schwannomas. World J Gastroenterol 2025; 31(5): 101280 [DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v31.i5.101280]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Ai-Qing Li, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, No. 79 Qinchun Road, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China. 3310015@zju.edu.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Retrospective Study
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastroenterol. Feb 7, 2025; 31(5): 101280 Published online Feb 7, 2025. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v31.i5.101280
Clinicopathological features and treatment of gastrointestinal schwannomas
Peng-Cheng Zhang, Shu-Hui Wang, Jun Li, Jing-Jie Wang, Hong-Tan Chen, Ai-Qing Li
Peng-Cheng Zhang, Jing-Jie Wang, Hong-Tan Chen, Ai-Qing Li, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China
Shu-Hui Wang, Department of Epidemiology & Health Statistics, School of Public Health, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang Province, China
Jun Li, Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China
Co-first authors: Peng-Cheng Zhang and Shu-Hui Wang.
Author contributions: Zhang PC and Wang SH contributed equally to this work; Li AQ designed the study and was responsible for developing the methodology and the accuracy of the data analysis; Li AQ, Zhang PC, and Wang SH participated in the formal analysis and investigation; Li J reviewed all histological samples to confirm the diagnosis; Li AQ, Zhang PC, and Wang SH performed data analysis and wrote the original draft; Li AQ, Zhang PC, Wang SH, Li J, Wang JJ, and Chen HT participated in the review and editing; All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was conducted in strict accordance with the ethical guidelines outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki and received approval from the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, School of Medicine, No. 2024-0589.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was waived considering the retrospective study design.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: The datasets analyzed in the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Please email the corresponding author at 3310015@zju.edu.cn.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ai-Qing Li, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, No. 79 Qinchun Road, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China. 3310015@zju.edu.cn
Received: September 9, 2024 Revised: November 11, 2024 Accepted: December 13, 2024 Published online: February 7, 2025 Processing time: 111 Days and 15.7 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Gastrointestinal schwannomas (GIS) are rare neurogenic tumors arising from Schwann cells in the gastrointestinal tract. Studies on GIS are limited to small case reports or focus on specific tumor sites, underscoring the diagnostic and therapeutic challenges they pose.
AIM
To comprehensively examine the clinical features, pathological characteristics, treatment outcomes, associated comorbidities, and prognosis of GIS.
METHODS
The study population included patients diagnosed with GIS at the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, between June 2007 and April 2024. Data were retrospectively collected and analyzed from medical records, including demographic characteristics, endoscopic and imaging findings, treatment modalities, pathological evaluations, and follow-up information.
RESULTS
In total, 229 patients with GIS were included, with a mean age of 56.00 years and a male-to-female ratio of 1:1.83. The mean tumor size was 2.75 cm, and most (76.9%) were located in the stomach. Additionally, 6.6% of the patients had other malignant tumors. Preoperative imaging and endoscopy frequently misdiagnosed GIS as gastrointestinal stromal tumors. However, accurate preoperative diagnosis was achieved using endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration combined with immunohistochemical analysis, in which S100 and SOX-10 markers were mostly positive. Smaller tumors were typically managed with endoscopic resection, while larger lesions were treated with surgical resection. Follow-up results showed that most patients experienced favorable outcomes.
CONCLUSION
Preoperative diagnosis of GIS via clinical characteristics, endoscopy, and imaging examinations remains challenging but crucial. Endoscopic therapy provides a minimally invasive and effective option for patients.
Core Tip: Gastrointestinal schwannomas (GIS) are rare neurogenic tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, posing considerable challenges in diagnosis and treatment. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical features, pathological characteristics, treatment outcomes, associated comorbidities, and prognosis of 229 patients diagnosed with GIS between June 2007 and April 2024. Our findings emphasize the critical role of endoscopy in improving diagnostic accuracy, guiding treatment strategies, and enhancing patient outcomes.
