Diagnosing gastrointestinal stromal tumors: The utility of fine-needle aspiration cytology versus biopsy

Background Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are mesenchymal tumors in the intestinal tract originating from a precursor to the interstitial cells of Cajal, which plays a role in gastric motility. The preoperative diagnosis of GIST may be very important for the surgical approach or the need for neoadjuvant treatment and is often done in conjunction with molecular testing. Design GISTs diagnosed in Stockholm between 1999 and 2019 with biopsy and/or fine-needle aspiration (FNA) material were included. Clinical and tumor characteristics, as well as sample representability, ancillary techniques, diagnostic accuracy, and time to diagnosis, were categorized and compared. Results We identified 460 diagnostic samples from 347 patients, consisting of 212 biopsies and 248 FNAs. FNA cytology had a significantly (p < 0.05) better sample representability (92% vs. 77%), diagnostic accuracy (84% vs. 76%), and shorter time to diagnosis (4.5 vs. 12.3 days on average) in comparison with biopsies. In addition, ancillary techniques such as immunochemistry and molecular analysis for KIT and PDGFRA mutations could satisfactorily be performed on FNA materials. Conclusions There are advantages to both biopsy and FNA cytology in diagnosing GISTs. While the significantly shorter time to diagnosis for FNA cytology can be due to institutional differences, its many strengths make it both an accurate and time-efficient method for preoperative diagnosis of GIST.