Neuroendocrine tumours (NET)
Neuroendocrine tumours (NET) can be benign (non-cancer) or malignant (cancer); sometimes thay are referred to as 'carcinoid' tumours. They start in the microscopic cells that produce the chemical messengers called hormones.
These tumours can occur in many parts of the body and the information here concentrates on NET's that affect the abdominal organs, such as pancreatic NET, gastric NET, appendiceal NET, small bowel NET and large bowel NET.
The vast majority of these tumours take a long time to grow and produce very few symptoms because of this slow growth. Sometimes the tumour produces large quantities of hormones and these can create quite severe symptoms such as red flushing of the face and diarrhoea, or low blood sugar and dizziness / collapse.
Treatment:
The treatment advice for NETs depends on several factors:
- where the NET started
- the size of the tumour and whether it has spread (its stage)
- whether you have symptoms of carcinoid syndrome or the overproduction of other hormones
- the appearance under a microscope
Operations for NET
Surgery may be recommended to remove the NET and, if it has spread to another organ, to remove as much of the disease as possible. This is often major surgery.
Sometimes surgery is not appropriate and the recommended treatment is drug treatment which aims to slow or reduce the size of the tumour and control symptoms.
CONTACT US:
All four HPB consultant surgeons can be contacted as follows:
PL6 8DH
01752 432071
PL6 8BG
01752 761812
Care UK, Plymouth
PL6 5XP
0333 321 1953
Please contact us at the hospital where you are being treated. We shall do our best to answer your queries as quickly as possible.
Each patient is different.
We have tried to be as accurate as possible with the information in this website.
However, each patient is different, so some information may not apply to your specific circumstances.
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