Early-stage small-bowel adenocarcinoma: a review of local endoscopic therapy.

Early adenocarcinomas in the small intestine are a rare entity. Most adenocarcinomas in the small intestine are diagnosed at a more advanced stage. After surgical resection, only 3 - 10 % are found in stage T1 and 0 - 3 % in stage Tis (high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia), resulting in an overall 3 - 13 % rate of early-stage small-intestinal adenocarcinomas. The diagnosis of early small-intestinal carcinoma by endoscopy is still very rare, although it will probably improve with the development of new endoscopic techniques. At present there have been only two studies and a few case reports on the treatment of early duodenal carcinoma by endoscopic resection. No major complications such as m…