( See "Carcinoids of the Gastrointestinal Tract" )
Five-Year Survival 54 percent
Small Intestine Lymphoma
Standard Treatment It is unusual to find a single lymphoma as a primary small bowel tumor , so it is mandatory that the standard lymphoma staging work-up be done to look for evidence of other areas of disease. The work-up will include abdominal and pelvic CT scans, a chest x-ray and bone marrow aspiration and biopsy . Depending on the stage and cell type, the standard treatment options include surgery, radiation and combination chemotherapy , all of which may lead to a cure.
For disease that is localized to the bowel wall or has gone beyond the wall (local extension), surgical removal of the tumor alone may be adequate if 12 or more nearby lymph nodes are removed and show no evidence of disease (a 40 percent five-year survival). But the addition of combination chemotherapy or radiation should also be considered. Radiation may lead to a cure, control tumor growth or relieve symptoms.
For disease that extends into the regional lymph nodes, the tumor should be removed at the time of diagnosis. Combination chemotherapy is then the treatment of choice ( see "Lymphomas: Non-Hodgkin's" ).
