Endosonographic large-bore biopsy of gastric subepithelial tumors: a prospective multicenter study.

Background: Once gastric subepithelial lesions (SEL) are found, tissue diagnosis is required, considering the possible differential diagnosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). Previous studies have shown insufficient accuracy of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) using cytologic analysis.

Methods: The feasibility and yield of EUS-FNA-based histologic tissue acquisition for gastric SEL, using 19 G large-bore needles, was assessed in a 4-year multicenter, prospective study.