Upper gastrointestinal tract: villous tumors

Villous tumors of the upper gastrointestinal tract are unusual. A review of the surgical experience at the Mayo Clinic disclosed 18 such tumors in 16 patients. Nine were in the stomach; two of these arose near the esophagogastric junction and appeared to be esophageal masses. Nine villous tumors arose in the duodenum and six of these originated near the papilla of Vater and produced obstructive jaundice. The total group of patients consisted of nine men and seven women aged 35-78 years. All tumors were malignant, with changes ranging from carcinoma in situ to invasive grade 3 adenocarcinoma. The malignancy rate in previous reports has been only 55%. The radiographic characteristics of villous tumors appearing as lesions within the esophagus and within the common bile duct have not been previously described in the literature. The basic features of villous tumors of the upper gastrointestinal tract are the same as those of their more common counterparts in the colon.