Background: Duodenal neuroendocrine tumours (D-NETs) are rare but increasingly diagnosed. This study aimed to assess the overall survival and recurrence rate among patients treated for D-NETs.
Methods: Patients with D-NETs were retrospectively reviewed with a median follow-up time of 4.8 years (range 0.0-17.2 years).
Results: A total of 32 patients with median age 68.0 years were identified. Fifteen patients underwent surgery while ten patients underwent endoscopic treatment. Mean estimated overall survival for the entire population was 12.1 years (95% CI 9.5-14.7 years), while 5-year overall survival was 81.3%. Tumour grade G1 was associated with longer mean estimated survival compared to G2 tumours (13.2 years versus 4.4 years, p = 0.010). None of the 23 patients who underwent presumed radical endoscopic or surgical resection had disease recurrence during follow-up. Tumours <10 mm could be treated endoscopically whereas a high proportion of patients with tumours 10-20 mm should be considered for surgery.
Conclusion: Patients with D-NETs had long overall survival, and mortality was more influenced by other diseases. Both endoscopic and surgical resections were effective as no recurrences were diagnosed during follow-up.
Keywords: duodenum; endoscopy; neuroendocrine tumour; outcome; recurrence; surgery; survival.