Benign and malignant tumors are found in the small bowel (like everywhere else). The big problem here is to diagnose the tumor. The small bowel stretches easily and symptoms of bowel obstruction occur late in the course of the disease. Clinical signs and symptoms occur late in the course of the disease. Normal endoscopy, as used in the large bowel or in the upper GI tract (esophagus, stomach) is possible only in the duodenum and a small portion of the terminal ileum (where it opens into the large bowel). The rest of the small bowel cannot be inspected during routine endoscopy. Today this part of the small bowel can be visualized by capsule endoscopy but this examination is not widely available, certainly not for routine check up.
An operation is the treatment of choice in small bowel tumors in order to restore passage and to remove the tumor.