|
Gastric Carcinoid Cure - Gastric Carcinoid Medicine Drug
TREATMENT CENTERS - SURVIVAL RATE - DRUGS AND MEDICINE - INFORMATION
- ATTORNEYS


Carcinoid (also carcinoid tumour or carcinoid tumor) is slow-growing
but malignant type of neuroendocrine tumour, originating in the cells
of the neuroendocrine system. Carcinoid tumours are apudomas that
arise from the enterochromaffin cells throughout the gut. They are
most commonly found in the foregut (35.6% cases) with lung, bronchus
and trachea constituting 27.9% cases from where they rarely
metastasise (except in case of pancreas). The next most common
affected area is the small intestine especially the midgut (32.1%
cases) with the highest proportion from ileum at 14.9% of all cases
[as per the PAN-SEER data (1973-1999)]. In cases of metastases it can
lead to carcinoid syndrome. This is due to the production of
serotonin,[citation needed] which is released into the systemic
circulation, which leads to symptoms of cutaneous flushing, diarrhea,
bronchoconstriction and right-sided cardiac valve disease.
They were first characterized in 1907 by Siegfried Oberndorfer, a
German pathologist at the University of Munich, who coined the term
karzinoide, or "carcinoma-like", to describe the unique
feature of behaving like a benign tumour despite having a malignant
appearance microscopically. The recognition of their
endocrine-related properties were later described by Gosset and
Masson in 1914, and these tumours are now known to arise from the
enterochromaffin (EC) and enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells of the gut.
Contents [hide]
1 Symptoms
2 Treatment
3 Goblet Cell Carcinoid
4 See also
5 External links
[edit] Symptoms
Most carcinoids are asymptomatic through the natural lifetime and are
discovered only upon surgery for unrelated reasons; these are called
coincidental carcinoids. But all carcinoids are considered to have
malignant potential.
About 10 percent of carcinoids secrete excessive levels of a range of
hormones, most notably serotonin (5-HT), causing:
Flushing
Diarrhea
Wheezing
Abdominal cramping
Peripheral edema
This constellation of symptoms is called carcinoid syndrome or (if
acute) carcinoid crisis. Occasionally, haemorrhage or the effects of
tumour bulk are the presenting symptoms. The most common originating
sites of carcinoid is the small bowel, particularly the ileum;
carcinoid tumors are the most common malignancy of the appendix, and
ovarian origin, though reported, is rare.[citation needed]
[edit] Treatment
Surgery, if feasible, is the only curative therapy. If the tumour has
metastasized (most commonly, to the liver) and considered incurable.
There are some promising treatment modalities, such as radiolabeled
octreotide,[citation needed], for arresting the growth of the tumours
and prolonging survival in patients with liver metastases, though
these are currently experimental.
Chemotherapy is of little benefit and is generally not indicated.
Octreotide (a somatostatin analogue) may decrease the secretory
activity of the carcinoid.
Carcinoid tumours are the most common malignant tumour of the
appendix, but they are most commonly associated with the small
intestine, and they can also be found in the rectum and stomach. They
are known to grow in the liver, but this finding is usually a
manifestation of metastatic disease from a primary carcinoid
occurring elsewhere in the body. They have a very slow growth rate
compared to most malignant tumours.
[edit] Goblet Cell Carcinoid
This is considered to be a hybrid between an exocrine and endocrine
tumour derived from crypt cells of the appendix. Histologically, it
forms clusters of goblet cells containing mucin with a minor
admixture of Paneth cells and endocrine cells. The growth pattern is
distinctive: typically producing a concentric band of tumour nests
interspersed among the muscle and stroma of the appendiceal wall
extending up the shaft of the appendix. This makes the lesion
difficult to suspect grossly and difficult to measure. Small tumour
nests may be camouflaged amongst the muscle or in periappendiceal
fat; cytokeratin preparations best demonstrate the tumour cells;
mucin stains are also helpful in identifying them. They behave in a
more aggressive manner than do classical appendiceal carcinoids.
Spread is usually to regional lymph nodes, peritoneum, and
particularly the ovary. They do not produce sufficient hormonal
substances to cause the carcinoid or other endocrine syndromes. In
fact, they more closely resemble exocrine than endocrine tumors. The
term 'crypt cell carcinoma' has been used for them, and though
perhaps more accurate than considering them carcinoids, has not been
a successful competitor. The ICD-O code for goblet cell carcinoid is
8243/3.[citation needed]
[edit] See also
Carcinoid syndrome
[edit] External links
Caring for Carcinoid Foundation
http://www.netumoradvisor.org
http://www.carcinoid.com
The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcinoid"
|