Duodenal Cancer

If you have a look at the digestive system in humans, the organ that follows the stomach is the small intestine. It is divided into three parts, the duodenum (9.8 in), jejunum (2.5 m) and the ileum (3.5 m). The duodenal cancer is a rare disease that affects the first part of small intestine. In the following paragraphs, we shall read about the duodenum cancer causes and symptoms, that will help one learn more about this rare form of gastrointestinal cancer.

Duodenum Cancer Causes
Duodenum cancer is a rarely observed gastrointestinal cancer. There are certain risk factors that makes one prone to developing this cancer. Some of the risk factors that increase the chances of developing duodenum cancer are:

• High fat diet
• Celiac disease
• Crohn's disease
• Familial adenomatous polyposis ((FAP) infection
• Muit-Torre syndrome
• Puetz-Jeghers
• Duodenal Ulcer
• Juvenile Polyposis Syndrome

It does not mean, every one who has been diagnosed with either of these conditions, will develop duodenal cancer. These risk factors just indicate these are mostly the causes of developing duodenum cancer. Of course, many cases have no known or explainable cause for presence of small intestine cancer.

Duodenal Cancer Symptoms
The duodenal cancer symptoms seen in most of the individuals suffering from this disease are as follows:

• Pain below the breast bone
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Boating of abdomen after consumption of food
• Blood in stool
• Abdominal swelling
• Unexplained weight loss
• Abdominal pain in the middle region
• Heartburn
• Acid reflux
• Fatigue

The most common type of duodenal cancers are found to be adenocarcinomas. In some cases, one can develop sarcomas as well as carcinoids of the pudendum.

Duodenal Cancer Diagnosis
As you can see, most of the duodenal cancer symptoms are similar to other gastrointestinal disorders. Therefore, one needs to carry put specific duodenal cancer diagnosis to be sure. The doctor may carry out a physical examination that helps in detecting lumps in the abdomen. Stool samples may be taken to detect presence of blood cells. Other examinations include CT scan, X-Ray of the abdomen, barium enema, liver function test, etc. Upper endoscopy, biopsy, laparotomy, etc. also help with duodenal cancer diagnosis.

Duodenal Cancer Treatment
The duodenal cancer treatment depends upon the stage of cancer, the health of the patient, age of the patients and other related factors. The most common line of treatment for duodenum cancer is chemotherapy as well as radiation therapy. If chemotherapy does not work, then surgery is carried out. In most cases, surgery is difficult as there are many blood vessels present in this part of the body. One of the most widely used surgery method is the 'Whipple' that helps with duodenal cancer treatment. A feeding tube or drainage tube may be fitted to allow movement of food that cannot pass through the small intestine blockage.

Duodenal Cancer Prognosis
The duodenal cancer prognosis depends of different factors like the depth of cancer invasion, the spread of metastasis to other organs, involvement of lymph nodes, overall health of patient, age, etc. It has been found, patients with duodenal cancer of the third part have better prognosis. The duodenal cancer survival rate is better in younger patients. It has been seen that the duodenal cancer survival rate for adenocarcinoma for five years is less than 35%.

This is all about duodenal cancer symptoms and prognosis. One needs to undergo lifestyle changes to avoid duodenal cancer, especially, when one is diagnosed with pre-existing conditions that increase the risk. Duodenum cancer makes up only 1 to 2% of all gastrointestinal cancers. Hope the above information has been useful for you in understanding this rare gastrointestinal cancer.