Abstract
BACKGROUND: The choice of surgical strategy for patients with rectal gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) remains controversial. This study aims to address whether the surgical procedure [local excision (LE) vs. radical excision (RE)] influences the survival outcomes. METHODS: The information of the patients recruited in this study was obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. A survival curve was used to evaluate the differences in cancer-specific survival (CSS). RESULTS: No significant difference was detected in the CSS between the LE and RE groups. Also, no significant differences were observed in the CSS between the two groups with respect to different T classification, N classification, tumor differentiation, tumor size, regional LN surgery, age, gender, race, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. The T classification and age were independent prognostic factors in rectal GIST patients. CONCLUSIONS: LE and RE have similar survival time after surgery, and LE could be considered as an effective surgical approach for rectal GIST.