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Objectives: To assess the potential value of preoperative 18 F-FDG PET to predict postoperative recurrence of solitary localized primary gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) after radical resection., Methods: A total of 46 patients with primary GIST who received preoperative 18 F-FDG PET and underwent complete resection without neoadjuvant therapy were retrospectively studied. PET findings, including ring-shaped uptake and intense uptake, were compared with Joensuu risk grades using Fisher's exact test. The prognostic value of the preoperative clinico-imaging variables-age ≥60 years, male, ring-shaped uptake, intense uptake, tumour size >5 cm, heterogeneous CT attenuation and lower gastrointestinal origin-and Joensuu high risk for recurrence-free survival was evaluated using log-rank test and multivariate Cox regression analysis., Results: Ring-shaped uptake and intense uptake were significantly associated with Joensuu high risk. Univariate analysis showed that ring-shaped uptake, intense uptake, size >5 cm and Joensuu high risk were significantly associated with inferior recurrence-free survival. Multivariate analysis showed that ring-shaped uptake (P = 0.004) and Joensuu high risk (P = 0.021) were independent adverse prognostic factors of postoperative recurrence., Conclusions: Ring-shaped uptake on preoperative 18 F-FDG PET may be a potential predictor of postoperative tumour recurrence of localized primary GISTs., Key Points: • Clinical course of resectable solitary localized primary GISTs varies widely. • Ring-shaped uptake is an independent adverse prognostic factor of postoperative recurrence. • Preoperative 18 F-FDG PET may help predict postoperative recurrence of GISTs.