Review Article
Gastrointestinal Carcinoid Tumours: A Review
Jennifer Ha1,2,3,4*and Weixian Alex Tan3
1Armadale Health Service, 3056 Albany Highway, Armadale, Western Australia 6112, Australia
2Royal Perth Hospital, Wellington Street Campus, Wellington Street, Perth, Western Australia 6000, Australia
3Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Hospital Avenue, Nedlands, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia
4School of Surgery, University of Western Australia, Australia
- *Corresponding Author:
- Jennifer Ha
Armadale Health Service
3056 Albany Highway
Armadale, Western Australia 6112
Telephone: +61 8 9391 2000
Fax: +61 8 9391
E-mail: jenha81@yahoo.com.au
Received date: February 03, 2012; Accepted date: March 16, 2012; Published date: March 18, 2012
Citation: Ha J, Tan WA (2012) Gastrointestinal Carcinoid Tumours: A Review. J Gastrointest Dig Syst 2:107. doi:10.4172/2161-069X.1000107
Copyright: © 2012 Ha J, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Introduction: Carcinoid tumour represents the majority of the neuroendocrine malignancy of the gastrointestinal tract. Diagnosis is difficult as it is often asymptomatic and non-specific, and the presence of symptoms generally implies advanced disease. Whilst surgical resection remains the treatment of choice for primary and respectable disease, there are still significant uncertainties for management of those with metastatic disease.
Methods: We present a review of the literature on the signs and symptoms, classification, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment options of carcinoid tumours of the gastrointestinal tract.
Conclusion: The aim of treatment is to achieve cure and or improve quality of life by palliating symptoms and prolong survival. The recent WHO classification scheme may be helpful with the diagnosis, prognosis as well as consideration of appropriate treatment option.