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Duodenum starts where stomach ends. It is first part of the small intestine and ends in the jejunum. The draining channel to drain bile from liver also ends in duodenum - called as common bile duct. Cancer arising from duodenum is duodenal cancer. It is a very rare kind of cancer. Less than one percent of all cancers arise from duodenum. This cancer can occur in anybody, however, it is most commonly seen above 60 years of age.
Some risk factors increasing the likelihood for this cancer are:
Signs and symptoms
Initial symptoms can be nonspecific and vague- making early diagnosis difficult. Symptoms of duodenal cancer will depend on the part of duodenum involved. So if cancer is starting from part close to the stomach-it causes obstruction resulting in vomiting. Tumorous growth in other parts also causes obstruction but if it close to stomach, these symptoms are much common.
If it starts from part close to bile duct, it leads to bile duct obstruction causing jaundice.
If there is ulcer in cancer there could be bleeding and pain. Bleeding manifests more commonly as anemia and weakness.
If duodenal cancer has spread to other organs then presentation could be specific organ involvement like liver dysfunction in case of liver involvement.
Weight loss, weakness, abdominal pain and anemia are common symptoms. Having these symptoms does not mean necessarily that patient has duodenal cancer. There are few other intestinal disorders causing these symptoms. Irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, tuberculosis of intestine can cause such manifestations too.
Investigation:
Once your treating doctor suspects the presence of duodenal cancer based on the signs and symptoms, he or she will order certain investigations to confirm the diagnosis and to see the extent of the disease. These include:
