New aspects of prognostic factors in adenocarcinomas of the small bowel

Primary small bowel tumors are rare and the prognosis is generally considered to be poor. Histologically chiefly adenocarcinomas are reported. The surgeon is challenged in their treatment, because of the infrequency, unspecific symptoms and delay in diagnosis. Retrospectively we investigated the surgical therapy, combined morbidity, survival rates and prognostic factors in a large series of primary adenocarcinomas of the small bowel at a single surgical center.

Between 1985 and 1998, 94 patients with a primary tumors of the small bowel (malignant n = 62 [65.9%], benign n = 32 [34.1%]) were operated on. The subgroup of the adenocarcinomas (n = 22) were considered for this study.

The median follow-up is 8.4 years (range: 0.9-14.2 years). Sixteen patients had a follow-up more than 5 years. The main surgical procedure was a small bowel segment resection. Morbidity was 13.6% (only in patients with a duodenal tumors) and the 30-day mortality 5.6%. The estimated 2-year-survival rate was 66%, the 5-year-survival rate 45%. Univariate analysis identified the presence of the residual tumor (R-status) (P = 0.004), tumor stage according to the UICC (P = 0.01), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.007), distant metastasis (P = 0.001), lymphangiosis carcinomatosa (P = 0.001) and vascular invasion (P = 0.0008) as prognostic factors.

A complete macroscopic and microscopic tumor resection including a systemic lymph node dissection has to be the aim of any curative surgical approach in patients with adenocarcinoma of the small bowel.