Abstract
The incidence of small intestine cancer is very low as compared with other digestive tract cancers. Our experience with regard to jejunal cancer diagnosed by preoperative biopsy is reported in the light of some related literature, and cases of small intestine cancer, except for duodenal cancer and ileocecal cancer, which had been reported in Japan, were totalized. One case, a 57-year-old woman, who had an initial complaint of anemia alone, was suspected as having ajejunal tumor from X-ray examination of the digestive tract and was definitively diagnosed as having jejunal cancer by endoscopic biopsy and angiography. In 310 cases, reported during the past 15 years in Japan, the number of cases of jejunal cancer was comparatively greater than that of ileal cancer (2.2:1) and each cancer was located mainly at a site near Treitz's ligament of Bauhin's valve. Preoperative diagnosis was made in only 54 cases (7.4%). X-ray examination of the digestive tract, endoscopy and angiography had been used as examination method. The rates of diagnosis were 19.4% for X-ray examination of digestive tract alone, 50.0% for endoscopy without biopsy, 100% for endoscopic biopsy and 31.0% for angiography, so that endoscopy was shown to be the most excellent method. The site diagnosed by endoscopy was limited to a site near Treitz's ligament or Bauhin's valve.
