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World J Gastrointest Pathophysiol. Jan 22, 2022; 13(1): 15-33
Published online Jan 22, 2022. doi: 10.4291/wjgp.v13.i1.15
Current treatment strategies and future perspectives for gastrointestinal stromal tumors
Yoichi Sugiyama, Masaru Sasaki, Mohei Kouyama, Tatsuya Tazaki, Shinya Takahashi, Atsushi Nakamitsu
Yoichi Sugiyama, Masaru Sasaki, Mohei Kouyama, Tatsuya Tazaki, Atsushi Nakamitsu, Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, JA Hiroshima General Hospital, Hatsukaichi 738-8503, Hiroshima, Japan
Shinya Takahashi, Department of Surgery, Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8551, Japan
Author contributions: Sugiyama Y wrote the report; Sasaki M, Kouyama M, Tazaki T, and Nakamitsu A reviewed the literature and contributed to manuscript drafting; Takahashi S was responsible for the revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content; all authors have read and approve the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The author has no conflict of interests.
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: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yoichi Sugiyama, MD, PhD, Doctor, Surgeon, Surgical Oncologist, Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, JA Hiroshima General Hospital, Jigozen 1-3-3, Hatsukaichi 738-8503, Hiroshima, Japan. sugiyama0113@gmail.com
Received: March 8, 2021
Peer-review started: March 8, 2021
First decision: May 3, 2021
Revised: May 23, 2021
Accepted: November 13, 2021
Article in press: November 13, 2021
Published online: January 22, 2022
Processing time: 315 Days and 13.6 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Radical resection is the most effective treatment for gastrointestinal stromal tumors, but there are other options including minimally invasive surgery and multidisciplinary treatment, which involves the use of neoadjuvant therapy in consideration of tumor size and location. Combination with tyrosine kinase inhibitors is important for maximizing the therapeutic effect of surgery. To predict the effect, it is important to examine the presence of tumor mutations, including type, location of the mutation, and molecular subtype. We herein discuss the current treatment strategies for gastrointestinal stromal tumors and promising treatments based on clinical trials.