Stage IV small bowel carcinoma mimicking advanced ovarian cancer.

摘要

To the Editor: Primary adenocarcinomas of the small bowel are rare and associated with a reported 5-year overall survival of less than 30 per cent. Given its low incidence rates, there is no standard of care for either surgical or medical management. For women presenting with omental disease, the presumptive diagnosis is often of an ovarian malignancy and these women are referred to gynecologic oncology. When a biopsy shows a mucinous carcinoma, it becomes difficult to distinguish between tumors that are primary to the ovary and those metastatic to them. The issue is of particular importance in the development of an appropriate treatment plan. Data have confirmed the benefits of optimal tumor debulking and platinum-based chemotherapy for ovarian cancer, but the role of tumor debulking in small bowel carcinoma appears to be limited to those without metastatic disease.1 We present a case of a woman presenting with disease consistent with advanced ovarian cancer who was ultimately diagnosed with Stage IV small bowel carcinoma. She was aggressively treated both surgically and medically and remains without evidence of disease 3 years after her original surgery.