Estimated new cases and deaths from small intestine cancer in the United States in 2024:[1]
Small intestine cancer types include adenocarcinoma, sarcoma, neuroendocrine tumor, gastrointestinal stromal tumor, and lymphoma. Small intestine cancer accounts for 3.5% of all digestive system malignancies.[1,2]
As in other gastrointestinal malignancies, the predominant modality of treatment is surgery when resection is possible, and cure relates to the ability to completely resect the cancer.
Neuroendocrine tumors of the small intestine are covered elsewhere as a separate cancer entity. For more information, see Gastrointestinal Neuroendocrine Tumors Treatment.
Tumors that occur in the small intestine include the following:
Approximately 25% to 50% of the primary malignant tumors in the small intestine are adenocarcinomas, and most occur in the duodenum.[1] Small intestine carcinomas may occur synchronously or metachronously at multiple sites.
Leiomyosarcomas occur most often in the ileum.
About 20% of malignant lesions of the small intestine are neuroendocrine tumors, which occur more frequently in the ileum than in the duodenum or jejunum and may be multiple.
It is uncommon to find malignant lymphoma as a solitary small intestine lesion.
The treatment sections of this summary are organized according to histopathological type rather than stage.
The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) has designated staging by TNM (tumor, node, metastasis) classification to define small intestine cancer. This staging classification applies only to adenocarcinomas arising in the nonampullary duodenum and small intestine. Nonadenocarcinomas arising in the small intestine should have a TNM assigned but are not assigned a stage classification.[1]
| T Category | T Criteria |
|---|---|
| aReprinted with permission from AJCC: Small Intestine. In: Amin MB, Edge SB, Greene FL, et al., eds.: AJCC Cancer Staging Manual. 8th ed. New York, NY: Springer, 2017, pp 221–34. | |
| bFor T3 tumors, the nonperitonealized perimuscular tissue is, for the jejunum and ileum, part of the mesentery and, for the duodenum in areas where serosa is lacking, part of the interface with the pancreas. | |
| TX | Primary tumor cannot be assessed. |
| T0 | No evidence of primary tumor. |
| Tis | High-grade dysplasia/carcinoma in situ. |
| T1 | Tumor invades the lamina propria or submucosa. |
| −T1a | Tumor invades the lamina propria. |
| −T1b | Tumor invades the submucosa. |
| T2 | Tumor invades the muscularis propria. |
| T3 | Tumor invades through the muscularis propria into the subserosa, or extends into nonperitonealized perimuscular tissue (mesentery or retroperitoneum) without serosal penetration.b |
| T4 | Tumor perforates the visceral peritoneum or directly invades other organs or structures (e.g., other loops of small intestine, mesentery of adjacent loops of bowel, and abdominal wall by way of serosa; for duodenum only, invasion of pancreas or bile duct). |
| N Category | N Criteria |
|---|---|
| aReprinted with permission from AJCC: Small Intestine. In: Amin MB, Edge SB, Greene FL, et al., eds.: AJCC Cancer Staging Manual. 8th ed. New York, NY: Springer, 2017, pp 221–34. | |
| NX | Regional lymph nodes cannot be assessed. |
| N0 | No regional lymph node metastasis. |
| N1 | Metastasis in one or two regional lymph nodes. |
| N2 | Metastasis in three or more regional lymph nodes. |
| M Category | M Criteria |
|---|---|
| aReprinted with permission from AJCC: Small Intestine. In: Amin MB, Edge SB, Greene FL, et al., eds.: AJCC Cancer Staging Manual. 8th ed. New York, NY: Springer, 2017, pp 221–34. | |
| M0 | No distant metastasis. |
| M1 | Distant metastasis present. |
| Stage | T | N | M |
|---|---|---|---|
| T = primary tumor; N = regional lymph node; M = distant metastasis. | |||
| aReprinted with permission from AJCC: Small Intestine. In: Amin MB, Edge SB, Greene FL, et al., eds.: AJCC Cancer Staging Manual. 8th ed. New York, NY: Springer, 2017, pp 221–34. | |||
| 0 | Tis | N0 | M0 |
| I | T1−2 | N0 | M0 |
| IIA | T3 | N0 | M0 |
| IIB | T4 | N0 | M0 |
| IIIA | Any T | N1 | M0 |
| IIIB | Any T | N2 | M0 |
| IV | Any T | Any N | M1 |
Treatment options:
Use our advanced clinical trial search to find NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are now enrolling patients. The search can be narrowed by location of the trial, type of treatment, name of the drug, and other criteria. General information about clinical trials is also available.
Treatment options:
Use our advanced clinical trial search to find NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are now enrolling patients. The search can be narrowed by location of the trial, type of treatment, name of the drug, and other criteria. General information about clinical trials is also available.
Treatment options:
Use our advanced clinical trial search to find NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are now enrolling patients. The search can be narrowed by location of the trial, type of treatment, name of the drug, and other criteria. General information about clinical trials is also available.
The PDQ cancer information summaries are reviewed regularly and updated as new information becomes available. This section describes the latest changes made to this summary as of the date above.
General Information About Small Intestine Cancer
Updated statistics with estimated new cases and deaths for 2024 (cited American Cancer Society as reference 1).
This summary is written and maintained by the PDQ Adult Treatment Editorial Board, which is editorially independent of NCI. The summary reflects an independent review of the literature and does not represent a policy statement of NCI or NIH. More information about summary policies and the role of the PDQ Editorial Boards in maintaining the PDQ summaries can be found on the About This PDQ Summary and PDQ® Cancer Information for Health Professionals pages.
This PDQ cancer information summary for health professionals provides comprehensive, peer-reviewed, evidence-based information about the treatment of small intestine cancer. It is intended as a resource to inform and assist clinicians in the care of their patients. It does not provide formal guidelines or recommendations for making health care decisions.
This summary is reviewed regularly and updated as necessary by the PDQ Adult Treatment Editorial Board, which is editorially independent of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The summary reflects an independent review of the literature and does not represent a policy statement of NCI or the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
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Changes to the summaries are made through a consensus process in which Board members evaluate the strength of the evidence in the published articles and determine how the article should be included in the summary.
The lead reviewers for Small Intestine Cancer Treatment are:
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The preferred citation for this PDQ summary is:
PDQ® Adult Treatment Editorial Board. PDQ Small Intestine Cancer Treatment. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. Updated <MM/DD/YYYY>. Available at: https://www.cancer.gov/types/small-intestine/hp/small-intestine-treatment-pdq. Accessed <MM/DD/YYYY>. [PMID: 26389423]
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