[Incidence of treatment modalities for cancer of the small intestine in Burgundy (France)].

Aims: To determine the epidemiological characteristics and management of cancers of the small bowel, on a population-based survey.
Methods: The registry of digestive tumors of Burgundy recorded all new cases of cancers of the small intestine in the departments of Côte d'Or and Saône et Loire (1,052,000 inhabitants).
Results: Two hundred and ten new cases of malignant tumors of the small intestine were recorded between 1976 and 1995 including 4 main histological types: adenocarcinomas (39.5%), carcinoids (26.2%), lymphomas (18.6%) and sarcomas (10.5%). Age-standardized incidence rates for males and females were respectively 8.8 and 5.6 per 1,000,000 inhabitants. There was evidence of lymph node invasion in 29.5% and visceral metastasis in 31.4%. Treatment was primarily surgical (90.5%), with a post-operative death rate of 17.1%. The rate of curative surgery remained constant over time, averaging 58.6%, 20% of the patients underwent chemotherapy, with a high proportion of lymphomas, often in association with surgery. The relative survival rates at 1, 3 and 5 years were 51.2, 38.3 and 32.7%, respectively. The multivariate analysis showed that survival was linked to age, and strongly to histological type and stage of diagnosis.
Conclusion: Cancers of the small intestine are an heterogeneous group of rare tumors, often diagnosed at advanced stage. No significant improvement has been achieved in their management over the past 20 years.