Prognostic factors of primary small bowel adenocarcinoma: univariate and multivariate analysis.
BACKGROUND
Adenocarcinoma of the small bowel is relatively less common than malignancies of the esophagus, stomach, and colorectum. In small bowel adenocarcinoma, various prognostic factors influence the disease-free status and overall survival rates.


METHODS
Eighty patients who were diagnosed with small bowel adenocarcinoma and treated at our institute between 1983 and 2003 were retrospectively reviewed.


RESULTS
The patients included 40 men and 40 women with an age range of 15 to 93 years (median: 62 years). Only 51.3% of patients were accurately proved preoperatively to have a malignancy by endoscopic biopsy. Sixty patients underwent surgical treatment, and 45 of those patients had curative resection. The follow-up period ranged from 2.5 to 229.7 months, with a median of 9.1 months. The cumulative 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates for all patients (excluding 3 patients who died in the immediate postoperative period) were 43.6%, 22.8%, and 17.5%, respectively. The cumulative 1-, 3-, and 5-year disease-free survival rate for all 43 patients with curative resection (excluding 2 patients who died in the immediate postoperative period) was 54.9%, 30.5%, and 27.4%, respectively. Meanwhile, multivariate analysis with Cox proportional hazards analysis demonstrated that earlier tumor stages (stages I and II) and curative resection were two independent factors influencing favorable overall survival. Lymph node metastasis was the only independent factor predicting poor disease-free survival in patients undergoing curative resection.


CONCLUSIONS
Poor prognosis of small bowel adenocarcinoma may be related to a delay in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Curative resection is the aim of surgical treatment for small bowel adenocarcinoma. Lymph node metastasis at presentation of the disease predicts tumor recurrence and distant metastasis after curative surgical treatment.
Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, 5 Fuhsing Street, Kweishan, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Ting-Jung
TJ
Wu
Chun-Nan
CN
Yeh
Tzu-Chieh
TC
Chao
Yi-Yin
YY
Jan
Miin-Fu
MF
Chen
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001706:Biopsy; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007414:Intestinal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D007421:Intestine, Small; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D015996:Survival Rate