1st Department of Internal Medicine, 251 Hellenic Air Force & VA General Hospital, 3 Kanellopoulou Str., 11525 Athens, Greece
Georgios Tziatzios
Department of Gastroenterology, “Konstantopoulio-Patision” General Hospital, 3–5, Theodorou Konstantopoulou Str., Nea Ionia, 14233 Athens, Greece
Paraskevas Gkolfakis
Department of Gastroenterology, “Konstantopoulio-Patision” General Hospital, 3–5, Theodorou Konstantopoulou Str., Nea Ionia, 14233 Athens, Greece
Eleni Koukoulioti
Hepatogastroenterology Unit, Second Department of Internal Medicine-Propaedeutic, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 12462 Athens, Greece
Christina Kapizioni
Hepatogastroenterology Unit, Second Department of Internal Medicine-Propaedeutic, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 12462 Athens, Greece
Konstantinos Triantafyllou
Hepatogastroenterology Unit, Second Department of Internal Medicine-Propaedeutic, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 12462 Athens, Greece
Antonio Facciorusso
Department of Medical Sciences, University of Foggia, Section of Gastroenterology, 71122 Foggia, Italy
Ioannis S. Papanikolaou
Hepatogastroenterology Unit, Second Department of Internal Medicine-Propaedeutic, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 12462 Athens, Greece
Gastric subepithelial lesions (SELs) are intramural lesions that arise underneath the gastric mucosa. SELs can be benign, but can also be malignant or have malignant potential. Therefore, correct diagnosis is crucial. Endosonography has been established as the diagnostic gold standard. Although the identification of some of these lesions can be carried out immediately, solely based on their echo characteristics, for certain lesions histological examination is necessary. Sometimes histology can be inconclusive, especially for smaller lesions. Therefore, new methods have been developed in recent years to assist decision making, such as contrast enhanced endosonography, EUS elastography, and artificial intelligence systems. In this narrative review we provide a complete overview of the gastric SELs and summarize the new data of the last ten years concerning the diagnostic advances of endosonography on this topic.
