Background & aims: Double-balloon endoscopy (DBE) enables endoscopic and histopathologic diagnosis of malignant small-bowel tumors (MSBT). This study examined the clinical features of patients with MSBT and evaluated the usefulness of DBE in the diagnosis of MSBT.
Methods: We retrospectively examined consecutive DBE studies of 358 patients who underwent DBE in our hospital between December 2003 and October 2007 because of suspected or established small-bowel disease.
Results: Fourteen patients with MSBT were diagnosed by DBE. The most common type was primary adenocarcinoma (8 patients), followed by metastatic carcinoma (3 patients) and malignant lymphoma (3 patients). Half of these patients presented with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB). Histopathologic diagnosis was obtained in 11 of 14 patients.
Conclusions: Of 180 patients with OGIB, MSBT accounted for only 3.9%, however, 50% of patients with MSBT presented with OGIB. OGIB is an important clinical feature of small-bowel malignancy, which can be diagnosed by DBE.