Backgrounds/aims: In spite of several case reports about gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) complicated with hemorrhage, study regarding the risk factors of bleeding in this tumor is scanty. Therefore, we analyzed the clinical characteristics of bled GISTs and tried to find risk factors of bleeding by comparing with non-bled cases.
Methodology: Medical records of 49 bled GIST cases from 5 university hospitals in Korea between year 2001 to 2010 were compared with 96 non-bled cases. Whole pathological slides were reviewed by an experienced pathologist.
Results: Female predominance (58.6%) was noted and the mean age of the included patients was 58.4±13.1 years. In univariate analysis, location of jejunum, prolonged prothrombin time, presence of surface dimpling in CT, cellular pleomorphism and positivity of S100 was significantly dominant in the bled cases. Multivariate analysis showed significant differences in the location of jejunum (p=0.004, OR=3.533), prolonged prothrombin time (p=0003, OR=19.643), presence of surface dimpling (p=0.026, OR=6.250) in CT, and positivity of S100 (p=0.001, OR=12.941).
Conclusions: Location of jejunum, prolonged prothrombin time, presence of surface dimpling in CT, and positivity of S100 are independent risk factors associated with bleeding in GI GIST patients.