Introduction: Duodenal adenocarcinoma is an infrequent neoplasm. Consequently, there are no large series that would allow conclusions to be reached on its diagnosis and treatment.
Patients and method: A retrospective study (1999-2003) of five patients diagnosed with duodenal adenocarcinoma in our service was performed.
Results: The mean age was 54 years. Eighty percent were male. All patients showed weight loss and abdominal pain. The tumors were localized in the second portion in three patients and in the third portion in two patients. All patients underwent gastrointestinal endoscopy with biopsy, which revealed adenocarcinoma. The most effective diagnostic test was computed tomography. In all patients, the preoperative diagnosis was correct. The technique performed was cephalic duodenopancreatectomy in three patients and duodenectomy with atypical pancreatic resection and right hemicolectomy in one patient. A decision not to perform surgery was made in one patient with liver metastases. Two patients who underwent surgery showed no complications. The remaining two patients showed slow gastric emptying in one patient and pancreatitis of the stump leading to fatal systemic inflammatory response syndrome in the other. Patient survival was 60, 13 and 1 month respectively. There were no recurrences. The patient who did not undergo surgery died at 4 months.
Conclusion: Duodenal adenocarcinoma is an infrequent tumor that is associated with various diseases. Surgical treatment is usually cephalic duodenopancreatectomy. Survival in resected patients is better than that obtained in primary pancreatic tumors.