[Problems in Diagnosis and Therapy of Juxtapapillary, Tubulovillous Adenoma]

Unlabelled: Tubulovillous adenoma of the duodenum have a high potential for malignant transformation. An exact preoperative staging and an accurate histological examination are essential in order to choose a proper therapeutic strategy. We report on difficulties in the diagnostic and therapeutic process of a patient with a tubulovillous, juxtapapillary, duodenal adenoma. The adenoma had been resected by means of submucosal excision after infiltrative growth had been excluded endosonographically and malignancy had been ruled out by the histological examination of a taken biopsy. Furthermore no malignant changes had been found in the resected material. However an early recurrence of the tumor questioned the correctness of the first diagnosis. In fact, a retrospective histological examination of the resected specimen revealed an adenocarcinoma, which had been overlooked primarily. Finally the patient underwent duodenopancreatectomy and remains without signs of tumor recurrence so far.

Conclusions: 1. Microinvasion of the submucosa can not be excluded endosonographically. Therefore endosonography can not specify the dignity of an unknown tumor with a sufficient safety, especially if there is only an intramural growth of the tumor without transmural spread. 2. Because of high recurrence rates and a distinct frequency of malignant transformation of duodenal adenomas, a submucosal resection should only be performed in high-risk patient. 3. In that patients the resected material has to be examined as accurately and subtly as possible to rule out a submucosal microinvasion. 4. Based on the above mentioned radical surgery (duodenopancreatectomy) should be performed in all normal risk patients with juxtapapillary adenomas.