Cancerous (malignant) tumors in the small intestine are very uncommon, occurring in about 9,000 people in the United States each year. Adenocarcinoma is the most common type of cancer of the small intestine. Adenocarcinomas develop in the glandular cells of the lining of the small intestine. People with Crohn disease of the small intestine are more likely than others to develop adenocarcinoma.
Test Overview. A brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) test measures the amount of the BNP hormone in your blood. BNP is made by your heart and shows how well your heart is working. Normally, only a low amount of BNP is found in your blood.
BNP is cleared by binding to natriuretic peptide receptors (NPRs) and neutral endopeptidase (NEP). Less than 5% of BNP is cleared renally. NT-proBNP is the inactive molecule resulting from cleavage of the prohormone Pro-BNP and is reliant solely on the kidney for excretion. Either BNP or NT-proBNP can also be used for screening and prognosis of heart failure. 2  Both are also typically increased in patients with left ventricular dysfunction, with or without symptoms (BNP accurately reflects current ventricular status, as its half-life is 20 minutes, as opposed to 1â2 hours for NT-proBNP).