title: Primary adenocarcinoma of the small intestine: presentation, prognostic factors and clinical outcome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Malignant small intestine tumor accounts for 0.1-0.3% of all malignancies. Although primary adenocarcinoma is the most common histologic subtype, there is no report of the clinical characteristics and natural history in the Asian population.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted retrospective analysis for the patients with the small intestine adenocarcinoma to explore the clinical characteristics and prognosis. All patients with adenocarcinoma of small intestine diagnosed between March 1997 and March 2007 in the Catholic Medical Center in Korea were identified through the cancer registry. The medical records were reviewed for patient characteristics, treatment and outcome data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data on 53 patients were available. Twenty-six patients (49.0%) underwent curative resection and 13 patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy. Fifteen patients received palliative chemotherapy. Median of overall survival of all patients was 12 months (95% confidence interval (CI): 8.5-15.1 months). Three-year survival and relapse-free survival rates after curative resection was 66.1 and 50.8%, respectively. Median survival of patients received palliative chemotherapy was 8.0 months (95% CI: 3.5-12.4).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prognosis of primary adenocarcinoma of small intestine was poor, especially in cases where curative resection could not to be performed. Further study on the methods for early detection and effective systemic chemotherapy should be investigated.
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Uijeongbu St Mary Hospital, College of Medicine, Catholic University of Korea, Uijeongbu Kyonggi-Do, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sook Hee
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Yoon Ho
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Koh
authors.forename: Sang Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Rho
authors.forename: Jae Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Byun
authors.forename: Seung Taek
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Keun Woo
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Im
authors.forename: Eung Kook
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Suk Kyun
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007414:Intestinal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000473:pathology*; D007723:Korea; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000175:diagnosis; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome