Clinicopathological Features of Small Bowel Tumors Diagnosed by Video Capsule Endoscopy and Balloon-Assisted Enteroscopy: A Single Center Experience

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Small bowel malignancies often present a diagnostic challenge due to their relative rarity and nonspecific clinical symptoms. However, technical developments in endoscopic instruments, including video capsule endoscopy (VCE) and enteroscopy, have allowed for the visualization of the entire small bowel. This study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological features of small bowel malignant tumors diagnosed by VCE and double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) in a single tertiary center. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed VCE and DBE findings from Korea University Guro Hospital from January 2010 through September 2018. RESULTS: A total of 510 VCE and 126 DBE examinations were performed in 438 patients. Small bowel malignancies were diagnosed in 28 patients (15 males; mean age, 61.0 years; range, 42 to 81 years). Among them, 8 had lymphoma, 8 had primary adenocarcinoma, 7 had gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) and 5 had metastatic cancer. Abdominal pain and obstructive symptoms were the most common findings in metastatic cancers (4/5, 80%). On the other hand, obscure gastrointestinal bleeding was the most common symptom of GIST (6/7, 85.7%) and adenocarcinoma (3/8, 37.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 6% of the patients who underwent either VCE or DBE were diagnosed with small bowel malignancy. These findings demonstrated the different clinical characteristics among small bowel malignancies and merit further study.