Trends and Financial Burden of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors in the United States: A Comprehensive Analysis of United States Hospitalizations

Background: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are associated with a substantial economic burden to the healthcare system despite their relatively low incidence and prevalence compared to other more common malignancies. This study aimed to evaluate trends in GIST-related hospitalizations, inpatient mortality, and the financial burden of GISTs in the United States. Methods: The National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database from 2016 to 2020 was used to identify adult hospitalizations (age > 18 years) with a primary diagnosis of GIST. A multivariate logistic regression along with Chi-square and t-tests was performed using SAS 9.4 software to analyze inpatient GIST-associated mortality, inflation-adjusted total hospital charge (THC), and length of stay (LOS) during the study period. Results: The study analyzed 48,690 hospitalizations (49.2% female, mean age 64.2 years, 38.2% elective admissions) with a primary diagnosis of GIST between 2016 and 2020. Annual GIST-related hospitalizations increased from 2,645 in 2016 to 11,565 in 2020 (P = 0.1208). The most common tumor location was stomach (48.5%), followed by small intestine (18.7%), large intestine (3.6%), and rectum (1.6%). There was a non-significant reduction in inpatient mortality from 4.16% in 2016 to 3.29% in 2020 (P = 0.807). Overall, 36.2% of patients had THC between $10,000 and $20,000 (36.5% in 2016 vs. 34.7% in 2020, P = 0.0001), and 9.8% of patients had a THC > $40,000 (8.3% in 2016 vs. 12.6% in 2020, P = 0.0001). Furthermore, 61.5% of patients had LOS of fewer than 5 days (59.16% in 2016 vs. 61.39% by 2020, P = 0.0001), and 38.5% had LOS of 5 days or more (40.84% in 2016 vs. 38.61% in 2020, P = 0.0001). The proportion of GISTs treated with endoscopic resection has remained stable with 13.02% in 2016 and 13.01% in 2020 (P = 0.08). Additionally, the proportion of surgical excisions decreased from 26.8% in 2016 to 21.4% in 2020 with a statistically significant trend (P = 0.004). Conclusions: GIST-related inpatient mortality between 2016 and 2020 has remained stable, and endoscopic and surgical interventions have become more common for the management of GISTs. This has been accompanied by a significant rise in overall inflation-adjusted hospitalization costs in the study period. These findings highlight the need for continued optimization of care and resource allocation for GIST management.