CARCINOID TUMOR is a rare type of tumor that usually grows slowly.

Carcinoid tumors are cancerous, but have been called cancer in slow motion, because if you have a carcinoid tumor, you may have it for many years and never know it. In rare cases, usually after a carcinoid tumor has spread, it can cause symptoms called carcinoid syndrome.

Carcinoid cancer and related neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are small, slow growing tumors found mostly in the gastrointestinal system, but can be in other parts of the body such as the pancreas and the lung. Since most of these grow very slowly, compared to other cancers, it usually takes many years before they become sizable or cause symptoms.

Carcinoid tumors and other NETs usually originate in hormone-producing cells that line the small intestine or other cells of the digestive tract. They can also occur in the pancreas, testes, ovaries, or lungs. Carcinoid tumors can produce an excess of hormonelike substances, such as serotonin, bradykinin, histamine, and prostaglandins. Excess levels of these substances can sometimes result in a diverse set of symptoms called carcinoid syndrome. Other NETs can produce other hormonal substances causing a variety of other syndromes.

Updated:: 15/11/2021 []