Background: Capsule endoscopy has involved a significant advance in techniques for imaging of the small bowel. Its most frequent indication is for studying patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB). Small bowel tumors are infrequent, representing only 1% to 3% of all malignant gastrointestinal tumors. This study aimed to assess retrospectively the occurrence and characteristics of tumoral pathology diagnosed by means of capsule endoscopy in patients with OGIB.
Methods: A retrospective review analyzed the first 320 patients submitted to capsule endoscopy because of OGIB (166 with obscure overt bleeding and 154 with obscure occult bleeding) at a single center. The patients with a tumor diagnosis were analyzed in terms of incidence, characteristics, and treatment of OGIB pathology.
Results: Tumor incidence was of 7.18% (23/320), with 65.2% of the cases supported with histologic confirmation (15/23). Obscure overt bleeding was the most frequent form of presentation, with the jejunum as the most frequent location (65.2%). For 16 patients, an intervention was conducted with a healing intent. Capsule endoscopy allowed the diagnosis of two cecal adenocarcinomas missed by colonoscopy.
Conclusions: Small bowel tumors are not an infrequent cause of OGIB. Capsule endoscopy, even if it does not allow determination of the benign or malignant nature or the histologic type of the tumor, is a useful tool for the diagnosis and early management of these tumors.