Tumour type and size are prognostic factors in gastric neuroendocrine neoplasia. a multicentre retrospective study

Background: Gastric neuroendocrine neoplasias (gNEN) are defined as type I if associated with atrophic body gastritis and type III when tumour is sporadic. This classification, together with grading and size, plays a crucial prognostic role. Nevertheless, the impact of these features on clinical outcome is not clear. Aim: To identify factors predicting poor outcome. Patients and methods: Analysis of type I and type III gNEN. A composite endpoint was defined if tumour-related death or metastases or angioinvasion were observed. Results: 156 gNENs were evaluated: 137 (87.8%) type I and 19 (12.2%) type III. Among type I, 103 were G1 (75.2%) and 34 (24.8%) were G2. In type III group, 8 were G1 (42.1%), 10 were G2 (52.6%), and 1 was G3 (5.3%). Negative endpoint occurred in 18 patients including 10 type III and 8 type I. Male gender (p = 0.032), tumour type (p = 0.003) and size >10 mm (p = 0.024) were predictors for poor outcome, whereas Ki67 was not confirmed on multivariate analysis (p = 0.192). 5-yr survival rates in type I and type III were 100% and 76.2%, respectively (p = 0.0002). Conclusions: Tumour size, tumour type and gender affect clinical outcome in gNENs. In contrast to NENs rising from other sites, Ki67 plays a less important role.