Small bowel cancer
Small bowel cancer symptoms include:
pain or lump in your tummy (abdomen)
weight loss
feeling and being sick
tiredness
dark black poo, due to bleeding in the small bowel
tear in the bowel wall
a low number of red blood cells (anaemia) due to bleeding
blockage in the bowel
Read more about blockages in the bowel
The symptoms of small bowel cancer can be vague. They can also be symptoms of other bowel problems, such as (IBS) or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It's important to see your doctor if you notice any changes that aren't normal for you.
It can be difficult to diagnose small bowel cancer as the small bowel is in the middle part of the digestive tract, so it can be hard for your doctor to examine. Taking pictures, for example a of the small bowel can be difficult.
Your doctor will arrange for you to have some tests if you have symptoms that suggest small bowel cancer. The tests will help the doctor see any lump or growth in the bowel. Often doctors won’t be able to make a diagnosis until you have surgery to remove a lump.
Tests you might have include:
A CT scan can show where the cancer is and whether there are signs that the cancer has spread to anywhere else in the body.
Find out about having a CT scan
MRI stands for magnetic resonance imaging. It produces pictures from angles all around the body and shows up soft tissues very clearly.
Get more information about having an MRI scan
You have these to check for a low red cell count (anaemia) and see how well your liver is working. Blood tests can check the amount of different substances in your blood. The levels of certain substances can be abnormal with some cancers.
You might have an endoscopy. This involves a specialist doctor looking at your small bowel with a camera. They will put a tube with a camera on the end down your mouth and throat.
Find out about having an endoscopy
You swallow a small capsule, which contains a camera and light source and takes pictures of the bowel as it travels through. The capsule is the size of a large pill.
Get information on having a capsule endoscopy
A DBE is a type of endoscopy. You’ll usually have a capsule endoscopy first and then a DBE as a follow up.
An endoscopist (a specially trained healthcare professional) inserts a small flexible tube, through the mouth or the back passage (rectum). It is about the size of a pencil and has 2 small balloons on it. The tube is called a double balloon enteroscope.
This allows them to examine the small bowel and take a if necessary.
Ultrasound scans use high frequency sound waves to build up a picture of the inside of the body.
The sound waves bounce off the organs inside your body, and the microphone picks them up. The microphone links to a computer that turns the sound waves into a picture on the screen.
Read about having an ultrasound
You drink a white liquid called barium (that shows up on x-rays) and then have x-rays to see how it moves through your bowel.
Find out about having a barium x-ray
Treatment for small bowel cancer depends on the type of cancer, and where it is in the small bowel.
Find out about the different types of treatment for small bowel cancer
Last reviewed: 03 Jul 2025
Next review due: 03 Jul 2028
The small bowel makes up most of the digestive system and helps your body to digest food and take in vitamins. Cancer that starts here is called small bowel cancer.
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