Surgery on neuroendocrine tumours

Neuroendocrine tumours of the gastrointestinal tract and pancreas present a major challenge to physicians in their recognition and treatment requirements, and surgical treatment of these tumours has become increasingly important for symptom palliation and survival. For some carcinoid tumours the extent of surgery may depend on tumour size. Midgut carcinoid is the most common cause of the carcinoid syndrome, requiring surgery for primary and mesenteric tumours to minimize the risk for abdominal complications but also for removal of liver metastases to palliate hormonal symptoms. Among endocrine pancreatic tumours, insulinoma and gastrinoma often cause severe symptoms of hormone excess despite their inconspicuous size, but they can be successfully removed with improved pre- and intraoperative localization. Other tumours – glucagonoma, VIPoma, and non-functioning endocrine pancreatic tumours – are often large or metastasizing, but generally require surgical debulking to alleviate hormonal symptoms and have favourable survival.

Key words: neuroendocrine tumours, gastrointestinal, pancreatic, liver metastases, surgical treatment