Primary adenocarcinoma of the jejunum and ileum. A clinicopathologic study

Abstract

The clinical and pathologic features of 43 primary adenacarcinomas of the small intestine (32 jejunal and 11 ileal) are reported. Seventy‐four percent of the patients presented with partial or complete small bowel obstruction, 56% complained of abdominal pain, 37% had symptoms of anemia (weakness, easy fatigability), and 35% had lost weight. Anemic hemoglobin levels occurred in 69%, and a palpable abdominal mass in 25%. Treatment consisted of a “curative” or “palliative” resection, or a bypass procedure. Seventy‐nine percent of the tumors showed an annular, constricting pattern, while the remaining 21% had a predominantly fungating or polypoid appearance. Three individuals currently free of clinical recurrence have been followed less than 5 years. Of the remaining 40 patients, a 5‐year cure was achieved in 11 (28%), including 6 (15%) who at present have no recurrence and 5 (13%) who subsequently died of other causes. Within 5 years, 28 of these 40 patients (70%) were known or presumed dead of tumor, and 1 had succumbed to other causes (2%). Various pathologic features were correlated with the clinical course. Documented lymph node metastasis proved to be the most valuable prognostic finding, 88% of these individuals dying of tumor, as contrasted to 45% of those with tumor‐free nodes. A few cases of superficially invasive carcinoma found in an otherwise benign adenomatous lesion had a good prognosis when symptoms were produced mainly by the adenoma, the carcinoma being a relatively minor component. Copyright © 1975 American Cancer Society