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Article: Carcinoid Tumors, Gastrointestinal
- Article from:
- Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer
- Author:
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Carcinoid tumors, gastrointestinal
Definition
Gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors are rare malignancies in which cancer develops in hormone-producing cells that line the appendix, bronchus, esophagus, intestines, liver, ovary, pancreas, rectum, stomach, testes, and thymus.
Description
Gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors are also called:
carcinoids
- endocrine tumors, carcinoid type
- metastatic carcinoid tumors
- neuroendocrine tumors
- neuroendocrine cancers
Types of gastrointestinal carcinoids
Doctors describe gastrointestinal carcinoids according to the part of the gastrointestinal tract in which they originate. Foregut tumors start in the cells of the esophagus, bronchus, thymus, and ...