title: Malignant tumors of digestive organs and liver metastases at the time of diagnosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Malignant tumors localized in the digestive tract have a tendency to local growth and invasion with lymph node metastasis. Distant metastases through blood with prevalent liver location are detected late in disease progression, in an advanced stage, when therapeutic possibilities are often limited to palliative therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included a series of 139 patients with liver metastases admitted to the Center of Gastroenterology and Hepatology lasi between January 1 and October 10, 2011 for the identification of primitive tumor. The patients were investigated by endoscopy, imaging, laboratory tests including tumor markers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At 99 of the patients (71%) we identified primitive digestive tumors, in 19 patients (13.6%) we found tumors with extradigestive location and in 21 patients (15%) the primitive tumor could not be identified. Primitive.tumor was located in various segments of the digestive tract, liver, and pancreas was follows: esophagus 4 - (4%), eso-cardial-tuberositary 2 - (2%), eso-cardial-tuberositary with pancreatic invasion 1 -(1%), stomach 15 - (15%), ileocolon 1 - (1%), colon 19 - (19%), rectum 12 - (12%), liver, multicentric hepatolcellular carcinoma 23 - (23%) billiary tract - cholangiocarcinoma 2 (2%), pancreas 2 - (20%). In a series of 586 patients with malignant tumors of the digestive organs referred to the Iasi Oncology Outpatient Unit between January 1 and September 30, 2011, 132 patients (23%) had liver metastases at the time of diagnosis; the most common locations were the stomach 41% cases (42/119 patients), followed by the pancreas, 35%, and colon 31% patients (28/79 patients and 37/119 patients, respectively). Males were most affected, regardless of primitive tumor.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although diagnostic and therapeutic methods have made remarkable progress in recent years, these tumors, by their frequency and advanced stage at diagnosis, remain both an oncologic and public health problem mainly due to the limitations of curative treatment.
authors.affiliation: University of Medicine and Pharmacy Grigore T Popa Iasi, Faculty of Medicine.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Toader
authors.forename: V L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Drug
authors.forename: Iulia
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Munteanu
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Petroius
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ciortescu
authors.forename: Oana
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Barboi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mohammad
mesh_terms: D002277:Carcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012383:Romania / Q000453:epidemiology; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D015996:Survival Rate