The role of endoscopic ultrasound investigation in the diagnosis of submucosal neoplasms of the stomach and duodenum (literature review and our clinical observations)

Submucosal neoplasms of the stomach and duodenum include a group of diseases with different etiology, clinical symptoms, diagnosis and management. Conventional gastroduodenoscopy helps detect submucosal formations in 0.36–4 % of cases, while the stomach is the most common site of submucosal lesions (up to 60 %). Endoscopy and ultrasound endoscopic examination are important tools for the diagnosis of submucosal tumors of the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, both benign (polyps, submucosal formations, extraorganic compression, cysts) and malignant neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract, especially small and accidentally detected. It is important not only to diagnose the tumor, but also to determine from which layers it comes, what level germinates, whether there is damage to regional lymph nodes. Only endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) can answer these questions. EUS combines the capabilities of two studies: endoscopic and ultrasound, which significantly increased the informativeness of endoscopic examination, as it was possible to determine the site of the pathological process and the degree of intramural invasion, and also made it possible to carry out the differential diagnosis of submucosal tumors and pathological processes in organs adjacent to the esophagus, stomach, duodenum. The article presents examinations of patients with submucous formations of the stomach and duodenum at the Institute of Gastroenterology of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine. With the help of EUS, the diagnosis was confirmed in one patient, and in another one, the submucosal neoplasms was excluded.