Small Bowel Tumors: A 7-Year Study in a Tertiary Care Hospital

(1) Background: Tumors of the small bowel represent 3-6% of gastrointestinal neoplasms and 3-6% of GI malignancies. The difficulties regarding the diagnosis are associated with larger tumors at the moment of the diagnosis and with advanced forms of malignant tumors, associated with a dismal prognosis. (2) Methods: We performed an observational, retrospective, cohort study that included patients with small bowel tumors admitted to the Craiova County Emergency Clinic Hospital between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2023. The data were collected from the analysis of the patient's discharge documents from the Hippocrates computer system of the hospital and the evaluation of endoscopy databases. Patients under 16 years of age, those with no pathological confirmation of the malignancy, and those with insufficient data were excluded. (3) Results: A total of 80 cases of small bowel tumors were diagnosed; 72.5% were malignant, of which 10.3% were metastases. The most frequent primary malignant small bowel tumor was adenocarcinoma; two squamous cell carcinomas were noted. CT scans and upper digestive endoscopy represent the most frequent imaging methods for the diagnosis. The prognosis for malignant tumors was poor, with a 41% 5-year survival rate. (4) Conclusions: Small bowel tumors are rarely encountered, with 72.5% being malignant, and were diagnosed at large dimensions and in advanced stages for malignant tumors, with a dismal prognosis.