Small intestinal adenocarcinoma

What is Small intestinal adenocarcinoma?

• Small intestinal adenocarcinoma is a type of cancer that arises from the small intestine.
• Histologic variants include mucinous adenocarcinoma and signet ring cell carcinoma.

How common is small intestinal adenocarcinoma?

Small intestinal adenocarcinoma starts in glandular cells in the lining of the small intestine and is the most common type of small intestine cancer. Most of these tumors occur in the part of the small intestine near the stomach. They may grow and block the intestine.

What are the risk factors?

Diet and health history can affect the risk of developing small intestine cancer. Anything that increases your risk of getting a disease is called a risk factor. Having a risk factor does not mean that you will get cancer; not having risk factors doesn't mean that you will not get cancer.

'What are the signs and symptoms?

Signs and symptoms of small intestine cancer include unexplained weight loss and abdominal pain. These and other signs and symptoms may be caused by small intestine cancer or by other conditions. Check with your doctor if you have any of the following:

• Pain or cramps in the middle of the abdomen.
• Weight loss with no known reason.
• A lump in the abdomen.
• Blood in the stool.

How to diagnose this cancer?

Tests that examine the small intestine are used to diagnose and stage small intestine cancer. Procedures that make pictures of the small intestine and the area around it help diagnose small intestine cancer and show how far the cancer has spread.

How is this tumor staged?

The process used to find out if cancer cells have spread within and around the small intestine is called staging.

• Physical exam and health history
• Blood chemistry studies
• Liver function tests
• Endoscopy including upper endoscopy
• Capsule endoscopy
• Double balloon endoscopy
• Laparotomy
• Biopsy
• Upper GI series with small bowel follow-through
• CT scan (CAT scan)
• MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

What are the treatment options?

There are different types of treatment for patients with small intestine cancer. Three types of standard treatment are used:

• Surgery
• Radiation therapy
• Chemotherapy
• New types of treatment are being tested in clinical trials.
• Immunotherapy
• Radiation therapy with radiosensitizers

Side effects of treatment

Treatment for small intestine cancer may cause side effects. Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. Patients can enter clinical trials before, during, or after starting their cancer treatment. Follow-up tests may be needed.

Treatment of Small Intestine Adenocarcinoma

Treatment of small intestine adenocarcinoma that cannot be removed by surgery may include the following:

• Three types of standard treatment are used:

Surgery

• Surgery is the most common treatment of small intestine cancer. One of the following types of surgery may be done:

Bowel resection: Surgery to remove part or all of an organ that contains cancer. Small bowel bypass: Surgery to allow food in the small intestine to go around (bypass) a tumor that is blocking the intestine but cannot be removed.

Radiation therapy Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. There are two types of radiation therapy:

• External radiation therapy uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the area of the body with cancer.
• Internal radiation therapy uses a radioactive substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters that are placed directly into or near the cancer.

Chemotherapy Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells throughout the body (systemic chemotherapy).

What are the new types of treatment options?

This summary section describes treatments that are being studied in clinical trials. It may not mention every new treatment being studied. Information about clinical trials is available from the NCI website.

Immunotherapy Immunotherapy is a treatment that uses the patient's immune system to fight cancer. Substances made by the body or made in a laboratory are used to boost, direct, or restore the body's natural defenses against cancer. This cancer treatment is a type of biologic therapy.

Radiation therapy with radiosensitizers Radiosensitizers are drugs that make tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. Combining radiation therapy with radiosensitizers may kill more tumor cells.

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