[Diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of patients with small bowel adenocarcinoma in Landspítali University Hospital 2002-2021].

BACKGROUND

Small intestine adenocarcinoma is a rare cancer with poor prognosis. The only curative treatment is surgery to remove the tumor. If the tumor is located in the duodenum, a pancreaticoduodenectomy is recommended, while partial resection of the small intestine is advised for tumors located more distally.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Data was obtained from the medical records system at Landspítali. Variables were recorded in Excel, and descriptive statistics along with survival calculations were performed using the statistical software R.

RESULTS

A total of 47 patients were diagnosed with small intestine adenocarcinoma, 32 in the duodenum and 15 more distally. Curative surgery was performed on 25 patients. Severe complications (≥3 on the Clavien-Dindo scale) occurred in 32% of cases. The recurrence rate was 24%. One-year survival for patients undergoing surgery was 80%, while five-year survival rate was 56%. Five-year survival was higher for tumors originating in the duodenum (70,6%) compared to other parts of the small intestine (25,0% p>0,05).

CONCLUSION

Small intestine adenocarcinoma is a rare condition, with few patients diagnosed during the study period. A high proportion of patients underwent surgery, but one out of every four was diagnosed with recurrence during follow-up. No previous results for small intestine cancer in Iceland have been published, making comparisons with other countries difficult due to the low incidence of this cancer.