Small intestinal cancers among adults in an Egyptian district : a clinicopathological study using a population-based cancer registry

Abstract EN

Small intestinal cancers (SICs) are very rare all over the world and little is known about them in Egypt.

Methods : this a retrospective study.

Between 2000 and 2002, 30 cases with SICs were identified in the Gharbiah population based cancer registry (GPBCR); 17 cases of whom were treated at Tanta Cancer Center (TCC).

Results : the median age was 51 years with female predominance.

The duodenum was the commonest site (43 %) followed by the ileum then the jejunum.

Adenocarcinoma (AC), carcinoids, gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs), lymphoma and sarcoma represented 50 %, 10 %, 17 %, 13 % and 10 % respectively.

Abdominal pain was the commonest symptom and localized disease was the commonest presentation.

Surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy were employed in 65 %, 35 % and 0 % of patients, respectively.

The median overall survival and progression free survival (OS, PFS) were 18 and 15 months (95 % CI : 10.4–25.6 and 3.6–26.4), respectively.

AC had inferior OS and PFS to other histologist (p = 0.08 and 0.12, respectively).

Also, duodenum subside was inferior in OS and PFS to other sites (p = 0.25 and 0.35, respectively).