Small intestine cancer laboratory findings

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Qurrat-ul-ain Abid, M.D.[2], Parminder Dhingra, M.D. [3]

Overview

Some patients with small intestine cancer may have elevated concentration of liver enzymes, which is usually suggestive of possible spread to the liver or blockage of the bile duct.

Laboratory Findings

Laboratory findings in patients with small intestine cancer include:^[1]

Complete blood count and differential count – anemia
Fecal occult blood test (FOBT) – demonstrates occult bleeding from the intestines
Serum carcino-embryogenic antigen (CEA) and CA 19-9 – elevated concentrations are associated with large tumor masses, and have a poor prognosis
Low serum iron levels
Low serum vitamin B12 and folate levels
Hypercalcemia – with metastasis to the bone

Test for Metastasis

Abnormal liver function tests
Abnormal pulmonary function tests

References

↑ Zhu L, Kim K, Domenico DR, Appert HE, Howard JM (February 1996). “Adenocarcinoma of duodenum and ampulla of Vater: clinicopathology study and expression of p53, c-neu, TGF-alpha, CEA, and EMA”. J Surg Oncol. 61 (2): 100–5. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1096-9098(199602)61:2<100::AID-JSO3>3.0.CO;2-G. PMID 8606540.

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[pmid8606540-1] Zhu L, Kim K, Domenico DR, Appert HE, Howard JM (February 1996). “Adenocarcinoma of duodenum and ampulla of Vater: clinicopathology study and expression of p53, c-neu, TGF-alpha, CEA, and EMA”. J Surg Oncol. 61 (2): 100–5. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1096-9098(199602)61:2<100::AID-JSO3>3.0.CO;2-G. PMID 8606540.

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