[Endoscopic sonography for staging of duodenal cancer]

A case of an adenocarcinoma of the duodenum is reported, in which the diagnosis and the staging was made by endoscopic ultrasound. Barium meal, conventional ultrasound and CT scan showed a stenosis of the pars horizontalis of the duodenum, the origin of which could not be assessed. The stenosis could not be reached with a conventional gastroscope, but with a colonoscope. Endoscopic ultrasound demonstrated a thickening of the duodenal wall with loss of the normal layer structure and infiltration beyond the outer margin. Not only the site of the tumor origin but also the malignant nature of the lesion could be determined by endoscopic ultrasound.