The role of endoscopy and endoscopic ultrasonography in the diagnosis of gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors (EN)

., J.K. Triantafillidis

SUMMARY Gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors are rare malignancies that have been classified by the peptides they secrete and the resulting clinical symptoms. They constitute less than 2% of all gastrointestinal cancers. Fifty percent of neuroendocrine tumors in clinical practice are the so-called carcinoid variety and are found incidentally at operation, after metastasis has occurred in the small intestine. Approximately 60% of pancreatic gastrinomas are concentrated in an area sub-tented by the head of the pancreas, gastric antrum, and first portion of the duodenum. The role of endoscopic techniques (upper GI endoscopy, push enteroscopy, and colonoscopy) in the diagnosis of endocrine gastrointestinal tumors seems to be quite important. Although there are no specific endoscopic features allowing the accurate and safe endoscopic diagnosis of an endocrine tumor, endoscopy could aid in the final diagnosis reached by identifying and removing the lesion or taking biopsies and sending them for histology. On the other hand, endoscopic ultrasonography, in experienced hands, not only visualizes the tumor itself but offers the ability to obtain smears for cytologic examination via fine needle aspiration. The invention of the wireless capsule which transfers high quality endoscopic pictures of the whole small bowel, will probably replace the classical small bowel barium followthrough in patients with suspected small bowel endocrine tumor. Key words: Neuroendocrine tumors, Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal hormones (EN)

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info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Ελληνική Γαστροεντερολογική Εταιρία

Annals of Gastroenterology

Reviews

Αγγλική γλώσσα

2007-03-19

http://www.annalsgastro.gr/index.php/annalsgastro/article/view/287

Hellenic Society of Gastroenterology (EN)

1792-7463

1108-7471

Annals of Gastroenterology; Volume 17, No 2 (2004) (EN)