ABSTRACT
Background and Aims: Endoscopic ultrasound‑guided fine‑needle aspiration (EUS‑FNA) sampling has become standard practice for the diagnosis of submucosal gastrointestinal (GI) lesions. The aim of this study was to determine the utility of EUS‑guided FNA cytology in the diagnosis of deeply seated gastric mass lesions. Materials and Methods: Thirteen patients with deeply seated gastric mass lesions were diagnosed by EUS‑FNA. Adequate cytology material was present in all cases. Cell blocks were available in 10 cases. Surgical resections were performed in 8 cases. Immunohistochemical (IHC) studies were done on cell blocks in 9 cases and on 6 resected specimens. Seven cases has proved to be GI stromal tumors (GIST), in four of them, cell blocks were available, and resection for GIST was performed in 5 cases. IHC stains that were performed in cytology, as well as resection specimens, revealed similar results in each patient. Conclusion: EUS‑FNA cytology, when combined with a histologic assessment of cell blocks provides accurate and efficient tissue diagnosis of a wide variety of deeply seated gastric mass lesions.