Primary adenocarcinoma of the angle of Treitz. Case report and review of the literature

Laparoscopic segmental resection for tumours of the Angle of Treitz: a challenging but feasible surgical option. Results from a retrospective case-series analysis

Tumours of the small intestine are rare and account for about 5% of gastrointestinal tract neoplasms. The angle of Treitz (AT) could be defined as the intestinal loop comprised between the third duodenal portion and the first 10 cm of jejunum. A gold standard surgical treatment for AT neoplasm has not yet been well defined. This paper is focused on a very rare disease and at the best of our knowledge this is the largest case series in the literature about the Laparoscopic Segmental Resection (LSR) of AT tumours. Using a prospectively collected database, all data of consecutive patients, from January 2007 to May 2019, who underwent LSR for AT tumours at two different institutions were analysed. Patients’ demographics, intra and post-operative data, 30-day mortality and overall survival were collected. A total of 16 patients were retrieved from our database. The mean operative time was 206,5 ± 79 min. Conversion to open surgery was needed in two cases due to tumor size and, respectively, invasion of the transverse colon which required a multivisceral resection. The mean distal and proximal resection margins were 7.4 ± 2.2 and 3.9 ± 1.2 cm. The median number of harvested nodes was 9 ± 3. Pathological diagnosis was GIST in 11 cases, adenocarcinoma in 4 and sarcoma in 1 case. In conclusion, in experienced hands, LSR appears to be a safe and effective treatment option for tumours of the AT. Prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Adenocarcinoma of jejunum

Although gastrointestinal malignancy is still the major concern of health problems in Worldwide and Thailand, but small intestinal malignancy is extremely rare. The location of small intestinal malignancy is duodenum (73.6%), jejunum (13.2%) and ileum (13.2%). The diagnosing of small intestinal malignancy usually delays due to inaccessible of esophagogastroduodenoscopy especially jejunum and ileum causing poor prognostic outcomes. We reported our case of jejunal adenocarcinoma.

Tumors of the angle of Treitz: A single-center experience

AIM: To explore the feasibility and oncologic outcomes of segmental jejunal resection on the left side of the mesenteric vessels in patients with tumors of the angle of Treitz using data from a single center.

METHODS: Thirteen patients with tumors of the angle of Treitz who underwent surgery at our institution were prospectively followed. A segmental jejunal resection on the left side of the mesenteric vessels was performed in all patients. Formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tumor samples were examined. The primary end point of this analysis was disease-free survival.

RESULTS: In this study, there were 8 males and 5 females (mean age, 50.1 years; range, 36-74 years). The mean tumor size was 8.1 cm (range, 3.2-15 cm). Histologic examination showed 11 gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) and 2 adenocarcinomas. Five of the GIST patients presented with potential low risk, and 6 presented with intermediate and high risk, according to the National Institutes of Health criteria. One potentially high-risk patient showed tumor progression at 46 mo and died 52 mo after surgery. One patient with locally advanced adenocarcinoma received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and adjuvant radiotherapy, but the disease progressed, and the patient died 9 mo after surgery. One GIST patient without progression died 16 mo after surgery because of a postoperative intestinal obstruction. The median overall survival rate was 84.6 mo, and the median disease-free survival rate was 94.5 mo.

CONCLUSION: The overall survival of patients with tumors of the angle of Treitz was encouraging even when the tumor size was relatively large. A segmental resection on the left side of the mesenteric vessels is considered to be a reliable and curative option for tumors of the angle of Treitz.