Introduction
The human intestine is about 5 meters long and is divided into several sections. Each section has a different task. The small intestine, which is called intestine tenue in Latin, is further divided into 3 sections, the duodenum, jejunum and ileum.
It is the longest part of the human intestine and is mainly responsible for splitting food. In all of these three sections a tumor can develop from the tissue. Cancer of the small intestine is one of the rare tumor diseases in the gastrointestinal tract and almost always affects the glandular tissue, i.e. the mucous membrane. This type of tumor is called adenocarcinoma.
Frequency
Basically, colorectal cancer is a very common type of cancer. However, most people get colon cancer and not small bowel cancer. It is assumed that cancer of the small intestine occurs less frequently because the food is shorter in this part of the intestine. Since the assumption exists that bad contents materials in the food can be jointly responsible for the emergence of the cancer of the small intestine, the retention time of the meals is of large importance.
Small intestine cancer – benign or malignant?
In small intestine cancer, a general distinction must be made between benign and malignant tumors. Benign cancer of the small intestine can manifest itself in many different ways. These include, for example, the adenoma (originating from the mucous membrane), the fibroma (originating from the connective tissue), the lipoma (originating from the fatty tissue) or the leiomyoma (originating from the muscles). Malignant cancer of the small intestine can manifest itself as carcinoma (originating from the mucous membrane), as sarcoma (originating from muscle or connective tissue) or as lymphoma (originating from lymphatic tissue).
Causes
The exact cause of the small intestine carcinoma is not clear. However, there are several factors that favour the development of the tumour. On the one hand, it is suspected that harmful foods are responsible for the disease, or that certain diseases can promote carcinoma of the small intestine.
These include Crohn’s disease, polyps and also benign growths that can be found everywhere in the intestinal area can degenerate. Degeneration means that the cells no longer die, but continue to multiply. One reason why colon tumors are much more common than tumors of the small intestine is that the food is usually located in the large intestine much longer than in the small intestine.
As with most other types of cancer in the intestinal area (enterological area), there are hardly any early symptoms. This means that the disease is usually either discovered by chance during a preventive examination or the cancer is already very advanced when it is discovered. The typical symptoms are similar to those of tumor diseases in other parts of the intestine.
In most cases, the typical symptoms are abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, altered stools and changed stool habits, which torture patients over a long period of time. If the disease is more advanced, colic and bleeding often occur. Bleeding often manifests itself in stool.
If metastasis has spread to other organs, many other symptoms affecting other organs can be added to the symptoms in the intestinal area. In very severe cases, a tumor that has spread far into the intestine and takes up the entire intestinal tube can lead to intestinal obstruction. This must be treated immediately, as it is life-threatening.
As with many cancers, there is often an enormous loss of weight in a short time. The tumor itself needs enormous amounts of energy, especially in an advanced stage, and thus slowly takes away the body’s reserves. In the context of small intestine cancer, coeliac disease, i.e. the intolerance of food containing gluten, can occur.
The reason for this is the change in the mucous membrane of the small intestine caused by the tumor. This changes the structure of the surface and the transporters and receptors involved in the absorption and absorption of certain food components. Conversely, there have also been isolated cases in which celiac disease has caused cancer of the small intestine. However, this is very rare and not to be expected as a typical consequence of gluten intolerance.
