Primary sarcomatoid carcinoma of the small intestine: very rare and aggressive tumour
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Updated: Mar 9, 2026

Establishment and Characterization of Small Bowel Neuroendocrine Tumor Spheroids
Published on: October 14, 2019
Peter Abotaga Andrawes1,2, Masood Shariff1, Qing Chang3
1Department of Surgery, Staten Island University Hospital, Northwell Health System, Hofstra School of Medicine, Staten Island, New York, USA.
Abstract:
Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the small intestine is a very rare and aggressive variant of small intestinal cancers with poor prognosis. The tumour primarily affects middle-aged and older patients with a mean age of 57 years at the time of presentation. We report a woman aged 58 years without any relevant medical history who presented with small intestinal obstruction. She underwent radiologic and endoscopy investigation with persistent features of small bowel obstruction. The patient was found to have a small bowel tumour causing the obstruction and underwent surgical excision of the tumour. Pathology revealed malignant neoplasm with sarcomatoid and epithelioid features involving the terminal ileum. The use of immunohistochemical markers helps in wide range of differential diagnoses. Surgical resection is still considered the best and first-line therapy with poor response to chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
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