Small intestine cancer

Small intestine cancer
Picture of a carcinoid tumour that encroaches into lumen of the small bowel. Pathology specimen. The prominent folds are plicae circulares, a characteristic of small bowel.
Classification and external resources
Specialty	oncology
ICD-10	C17
ICD-9-CM	152
MeSH	D007414

In oncology, small intestine cancer, also small bowel cancer and cancer of the small bowel, is a cancer of the small intestine. It is relatively rare compared to other gastrointestinal malignancies such as gastric cancer (stomach cancer) and colorectal cancer.

Small intestine cancer can be subdivided into duodenal cancer (the first part of the small intestine) and cancer of the jejunum and ileum (the later two parts of the small intestine). Duodenal cancer has more in common with stomach cancer, while cancer of the jejunum and ileum have more in common with colorectal cancer. Five year survival rates are 65%.^[1]

Several different subtypes of small intestine cancer exist. These include:

• adenocarcinoma
• gastrointestinal stromal tumor
• lymphoma
• ileal carcinoid tumor

Risk factors

Endoscopic image of adenocarcinoma of duodenum seen in the post-bulbar duodenum.

Risk factors for small intestine cancer include:^[2][3]

• Crohn's disease
• Celiac disease
• Radiation exposure
• Hereditary gastrointestinal cancer syndromes: familial adenomatous polyposis, hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer, Peutz-Jeghers syndrome
• Males are 25% more likely to develop the disease

Benign tumours and conditions that may be mistaken for cancer of the small bowel:

• Hamartoma
• Tuberculosis

Research

Little research is conducted on these cancers due to their relative rarity when compared to the more common colorectal cancers. APC-min mice which carry a gene deficiency corresponding to that of humans with FAP also go on to develop small intestinal tumors, though humans do not.

Additional images

• 
  Micrograph of a small intestine neuroendocrine tumour. H&E stain.

References

1. "SEER Stat Fact Sheets: Small Intestine Cancer". NCI. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
2. Delaunoit T, Neczyporenko F, Limburg PJ, Erlichman C (March 2005). "Pathogenesis and risk factors of small bowel adenocarcinoma: a colorectal cancer sibling?". Am. J. Gastroenterol. 100 (3): 703–10. doi:10.1111/j.1572-0241.2005.40605.x. PMID 15743371.
3. Chen AC, Neugut AI. Malignant Neoplasms of the Small Intestine. eMedicine.com. URL: http://www.emedicine.com/MED/topic2651.htm. Accessed on: June 2, 2006.