15 Facts About Neuroendocrine tumors

Neuroendocrine tumors are neoplasms that arise from cells of the endocrine and nervous systems.

Traditionally, neuroendocrine tumors have been classified by their anatomic site of origin.

Neuroendocrine tumors lesions are graded histologically according to markers of cellular proliferation, rather than cellular polymorphism.

In usage, the term "carcinoid" has often been applied to both, although sometimes it is restrictively applied to NETs of GI origin, or alternatively to those Neuroendocrine tumors which secrete functional hormones or polypeptides associated with clinical symptoms, as discussed.

Many Neuroendocrine tumors do not cause symptoms even when they have metastasized.

Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors are often referred to as "islet cell tumors", or "pancreatic endocrine tumors".

Functional tumors are often classified by the hormone most strongly secreted by the pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor, as discussed in that main article.

Animal neuroendocrine tumors include neuroendocrine cancer of the liver in dogs, and devil facial tumor disease in Tasmanian devils.

However, neuroendocrine tumors can be seen in several inherited familial syndromes, including:.

Neuroendocrine tumors cells are present not only in endocrine glands throughout the body that produce hormones, but are found in all body tissues.

Neuroendocrine tumors tumours express somatostatin receptors providing a unique target for imaging.

However, neuroendocrine tumors are often slow growing and indolent, and these do not show well on FDG-PET.

Intermediate and high grade Neuroendocrine tumors are usually best treated by various early interventions rather than observation .

Enterochromaffin cells, which give rise to carcinoid Neuroendocrine tumors, were identified in 1897 by Nikolai Kulchitsky and their secretion of serotonin was established in 1953 when the "flushing" effect of serotonin had become clinically recognized.

Neuroendocrine tumors were sometimes called APUDomas because these cells often show amine precursor uptake and decarboxylation to produce biogenic amines such as catecholamines and serotonin.