An evaluation of 2537 gastrointestinal stromal tumors for a proposed clinical staging system.

Hypothesis: A gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) staging system can be created with the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database.

Design: A review of records in the SEER database from 2537 patients with GISTs from June 1, 1977, through August 1, 2004.

Patients And Methods: Patients were compared using all available clinicopathologic factors, and a TGM (tumor, grade, metastasis) staging system was created according to these parameters.