Intestinal Cancer

On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Living With
• Genetics

See, Play and Learn

• No links available

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Your small intestine is part of your digestive system. It is a long tube that connects your stomach to your large intestine. Intestinal cancer is rare, but eating a high-fat diet or having Crohn's disease, celiac disease, or a history of colonic polyps can increase your risk.

Possible signs of small intestine cancer include:

• Abdominal pain
• Weight loss for no reason
• Blood in the stool
• A lump in the abdomen

Imaging tests that create pictures of the small intestine and the area around it can help diagnose intestinal cancer and show whether it has spread.

Surgery is the most common treatment. Additional options include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or a combination.

NIH: National Cancer Institute

Start Here

• General Information about Small Intestine Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• What Are Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors? (American Cancer Society)

Diagnosis and Tests

• How Are Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors Diagnosed? (American Cancer Society)
• How Are Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors Staged? (American Cancer Society)
• How Is Small Intestine Adenocarcinoma Diagnosed? (American Cancer Society)
• How Is Small Intestine Adenocarcinoma Staged? (American Cancer Society)
• Stages of Small Intestine Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Understanding Capsule Endoscopy (American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy) Also in Spanish
• Upper Gastrointestinal (GI) Series (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
• Upper GI Endoscopy (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• What Are the Risk Factors for Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors? (American Cancer Society)
• What Are the Risk Factors for Small Intestine Adenocarcinoma? (American Cancer Society)

Treatments and Therapies

• Drugs Approved for Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (National Cancer Institute)
• General Treatment Information for Small Intestine Adenocarcinoma (American Cancer Society)
• Small bowel resection - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Small Intestine Cancer Treatment (National Cancer Institute)
• Treatment Option Overview (Small Intestine Cancer) (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish

Living With

• What Happens After Treatment for Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor? (American Cancer Society)
• What Happens After Treatment for Small Intestine Adenocarcinoma? (American Cancer Society)

Genetics

• Do We Know What Causes Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors? (American Cancer Society)
• Gastrointestinal stromal tumor: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Statistics and Research

• Cancer Statistics: Small Intestine Cancer (National Cancer Institute)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Duodenal Neoplasms (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Complete sealing of a duodenal perforation during endoscopic submucosal dissection using...
• Article: Application of a new loop cutter for nylon lines and the...
• Article: A "clip-thread-elastic ring" internal traction device for endoscopic submucosal dissection of...
• Intestinal Cancer -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• Dictionary of Cancer Terms (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish

Find an Expert

• American Cancer Society
• Find a Cancer Doctor (American Society of Clinical Oncology)
• National Cancer Institute Also in Spanish
• Organizations that Offer Cancer Support Services (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish

Children

• Childhood Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors Treatment (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Childhood Neuroendocrine Carcinoid Tumors Treatment (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Abdominal radiation - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• After chemotherapy - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Enteroscopy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Radiation enteritis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Small bowel resection (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Small bowel resection - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish