Villous tumors of the duodenum: Reappraisal of local vs. extended resection

Benign villous tumors of the duodenum are often managed by transduodenal local excision. Risk of local recurrence, coupled with improving safety of radical pancreaticoduodenectomy, has prompted reexamination of the roles of conservative and radical operations. The aim of this study was to determine long term outcome after local and extended resection in order to identify factors to consider in planning operative strategy. Eighty-six patients (mean age 64 years) with villous tumors of the duodenum managed surgically from 1980 to 1997 were reviewed. Histologic findings, size, presence of polyposis syndromes, and extent of resection were correlated with outcome. Villous tumors were benign adenomas in 64 pa dents (74%), contained carcinoma in situ in three (4%), and invasive carcinoma in 19 (22%). The presence of cancer was not known preoperatively in 9 (47%) of the 19 with invasive carcinoma. Operative treatment included transduodenal local excision in 53 patients, pancreaticoduodenectomy in 20, pancreas-sparing duodenectomy in five, full-thickness excision in four, and other in six. Among the 50 patients with benign tumors managed by local excision, 17 had a recurrence with actuarial rates of 32% at 5 years and 43 % at 10 years; four of the recurrences (24%) were adenocarcinomas. The recurrence rate was influenced by the presence of a polyposis syndrome but not by tumor size. Recurrence of benign villous rumors after local excision is common and may be malignant. Pancreaticoduodenectomy is appropriate for villous tumors containing cancer and may be considered an alternative for select patients with benign villous tumors of the duodenum. If local excision is performed, regular postoperative endoscopic surveillance is mandatory.