Primary mucinous adenocarcinoma of the ileum

A laparotomy was performed on a 67-year-old woman with a provisional diagnosis of intestinal obstruction from a primary small bowel carcinoma. A pathological examination showed a mucinous adenocarcinoma of the ileum, with no regional lymph node metastases. There was no evidence of any other abnormality in the peritoneal cavity. Ten years after the operation, an abdominal computed tomography scan showed a recurrent tumor in the peritoneal cavity. Primary small bowel adenocarcinoma is rare in all malignant gastrointestinal neoplasms, and very few cases of the ileal mucinous adenocarcinoma have been reported. They are usually diagnosed at an advanced stage; as a result, they have a poor prognosis. We performed a radical operation for the ileal mucinous adenocarcinoma, and long-term survival was obtained. This case suggests that aggressive surgical treatment for an advanced stage of small bowel cancer leads to long-term survival.