The aim of the present study was to analyze the clinicopathological characteristics presented in 9 cases of gastric calcifying fibrous tumor (CFT), and investigate the expressions and clinical implications of G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER), estrogen receptor (ER) and vimentin in gastric CFTs. The clinical and pathological information of 9 patients with CFTs was investigated retrospectively. Subsequently, the expression of GPER, ER and vimentin were examined using immunohistochemistry, and a literature search for gastric CFT was conducted. The 9 patients were 40-71 years old with a mean age of 52.22 years, including 6 female and 3 male patients. Pathological features included dense hyalinized collagen fibers with a psammomatous body or dystrophic calcification, and the infiltration of scattered lymphocytes and plasma cells. Immunohistochemically, all cases expressed vimentin and GPER, whereas ER expression was negative. Using a database research, 25 studies regarding gastric CFT were identified, including 48 cases with a sex ratio (female:male) of 1.4:1. In addition, the number of female patients was twice the number of male patients in patients <50 years old, whereas the number was almost equal between women and men ≥50 years of age. Gastric CFT is a benign lesion with a good prognosis and a predilection for female patients, particularly premenopausal women. Estrogen may serve a role in this female predominance, and this may be mediated by GPER rather than ER.
Keywords: G protein-coupled estrogen receptor; clinicopathological features; estrogen receptor; gastric calcifying fibrous tumor; immunohistochemistry.