Small Bowel Tumours

The small bowel or small intestine is the long tube connecting the stomach to the large intestine of the digestive tract. Small bowel tumours can be non-cancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). Some of the benign tumours include tumours of fat cells (lipomas), muscle cells (leiomyomas), nerve cells (neurofibromas) and connective tissue cells (fibromas). Common symptoms include abdominal swelling and pain, bleeding, diarrhoea, and vomiting, if there is abdominal obstruction. Malignant tumours of the small intestine include adenocarcinoma, lymphoma and carcinoid tumours. Common symptoms include pain, bleeding, and obstruction of the small intestine.

Small bowel tumours can be diagnosed through endoscopy, a procedure where a narrow tube with a camera is inserted into your digestive system to examine the tumours. Your doctor may order a biopsy of the small intestine tissues to make a more definitive diagnosis. Treatment involves surgery, electrocautery (applying an electric current), thermal obliteration (applying heat) or laser phototherapy (procedure in which a high-energy beam of light is directed to the growth site).