[Gastric leiomyosarcoma. Considerations for non-radical surgery].

Leiomyosarcomas of the stomach are uncommon tumors and because their rarity there is a lack of understanding of the best approach to their surgical treatment. This is a retrospective review of eleven patients surgically treated with a non-radical method. The median age was 70 years (range, 44 to 83 years) and the most common initial symptoms were abdominal pain (36%), abdominal mass (27%) and weight loss (18%). The most common site of tumor involvement was the middle stomach (63%) and posterior wall (36%) with a median size of 18 cm (range, 8 to 30 cm). Operations included wedge resection of the stomach (55%), subtotal gastrectomy (36%) and biopsy (9%). Neither lymphadenectomy nor extended gastrectomy with en bloc excision were carried out. Follow-up was complete in all patients and the median duration of follow-up was 41 months (range, 8 to 72 months). The overall 5-years survival was 72% and only two patients died because of their tumor. Our results suggest that non-radical surgery in gastric leiomyosarcoma is an appropriate method in the surgical management of these patients.