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Condition · 0 treatment paths

Carcinoid Tumour

A carcinoid tumour is a slow-growing neuroendocrine tumour. It most often arises in the small bowel, appendix, lung or stomach and may release hormones.

Severe
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Ilisasishwa mwisho: Jinsi tunavyokusanya na kukagua taarifa

Linear accelerator used for radiotherapy in a cancer treatment room
Treatment paths
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Specialties
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Typical severity
SevereTypical severity

About carcinoid tumour

What to know

Many are found incidentally. Others cause abdominal pain, bowel obstruction, wheeze or cough, depending on site. Hormone release can cause flushing, diarrhoea and wheezing, called carcinoid syndrome, usually once the tumour has spread to the liver. Diagnosis uses CT or MRI, a specialised PET scan, endoscopy with biopsy, and urine or blood markers. Growth is usually slow, so the outlook is often longer than for other cancers.

Surgery to remove the tumour, and nearby nodes, is the main treatment for localised disease, such as gastric resection for a stomach tumour. Spread to the liver may be treated by surgery, embolisation or ablation. Somatostatin analogue injections control hormone symptoms and slow growth, and peptide receptor radionuclide therapy is used for progressive disease. Regular scans follow treatment, and care is best at neuroendocrine tumour centres.

Pre-flight workup

Tests to have already done

  • Pathology report with grade (Ki-67 index or mitotic count) and the tumour's site of origin.
  • Chromogranin A, 24-hour urine 5-HIAA and other hormone markers.
  • CT or MRI, and a somatostatin receptor scan such as Ga-68 DOTATATE PET, with images and reports.
  • Endoscopy, colonoscopy or bronchoscopy reports for the primary site.
  • Heart ultrasound if you have flushing or diarrhoea, to check for carcinoid heart disease.

Second opinion

When to get a second look

  • Surgery is advised for a very small tumour that may be suitable for monitoring or endoscopic removal.
  • The grade is uncertain or the Ki-67 and imaging do not match.
  • You have liver spread and local therapies have not been discussed.
  • Flushing, diarrhoea or wheeze are present and a somatostatin analogue has not been considered.

Talking to your doctor

Questions to ask

  1. Where did the tumour start and what grade is it?
  2. Has it spread, and what do my scans and hormone tests show?
  3. Is surgery curative for me, and what length of bowel or stomach would be removed?
  4. Do I need a medicine like octreotide or lanreotide?
  5. Is a somatostatin receptor scan needed?
  6. What follow-up scans and tests will I need?

Outlook

Realistic prognosis

Carcinoid tumours usually grow slowly, and the outlook is often better than for other cancers at similar stages. Small localised tumours can be cured by complete removal. Spread to the liver is common in small-bowel tumours but many people live for years with treatment that controls symptoms and slows growth. Outcome depends on the primary site, tumour grade, extent of spread and carcinoid syndrome, and long-term follow-up is needed because late recurrence can occur.

01 · Specialties

Specialties that treat Carcinoid

Specialists Doctors who treat carcinoid tumour Cross-hospital roster across 1+ relevant specialties. View roster

Diagnostic workup

Before you pick a hospital, get the workup right

Severe — workup typically within 48–72 hours

Picking the right treatment is downstream of a complete diagnosis. Skip steps here and the destination surgeon usually re-orders them anyway — at higher cost and another week on the ground.

  1. Confirm the diagnosis on imaging or labs

    For carcinoid tumour, plan on the workup your home doctor would order anyway — typically a recent specialist consult plus the imaging / labs the destination team will need to quote accurately. Anything older than 90 days usually gets re-done.
  2. See a oncology specialist locally first

    An in-person clinical exam at home — even a single consult — costs little and dramatically improves the destination plan. Bring back: written impression, recommended procedure, surgical-risk class, and any contra-indications.
  3. Send us the file for a free second opinion

    Two surgeons in our medical panel review the workup independently. They tell you whether they'd operate, watch, or refer — even if that means recommending against travel.
  4. Pick a path with timeline + cost in writing

    Once a treatment is the right call, we line up 2–3 hospital options with itemized quotes, surgeon profiles, and a travel timeline. You hold the file — switch hospitals or step away at any point.

Where to be treated

Carcinoid Tumour treatment by destination

Get a panel match

04 · FAQ

Common questions about carcinoid tumour

Is a carcinoid tumour cancer?

It is classed as a neuroendocrine neoplasm and behaves like a slow-growing cancer, especially if larger or spread.

Will surgery cure it?

If the tumour is small and fully removed, often yes. Tumours with spread are usually controlled rather than cured.

What is carcinoid syndrome?

Flushing, diarrhoea and sometimes wheeze caused by hormones released into the bloodstream, usually when there is liver spread.

How long is follow-up?

Often many years, with periodic scans and tests.

Clinical context

Working up carcinoid tumour properly

A condition like carcinoid tumour is rarely well-served by jumping straight to treatment shopping. The sequence below is what a oncology specialist would expect to see completed — and the absence of any step is the right cue to delay travel decisions.

Diagnostic workup, in sequence

  1. First-line clinical assessment

    History, physical exam, and risk-factor review by a senior generalist or oncology specialist. Symptoms list, family history, prior workup notes, and current medication list should travel with the patient.

  2. Standard imaging + labs

    Baseline blood work, condition-specific imaging (ultrasound / X-ray / MRI / CT — depending on indication), and ECG / pulmonary function as relevant. Bring digital copies of any prior imaging — saves repeat scans and the cost that goes with them.

  3. Specialist diagnostic workup

    Procedure-specific tests — biopsy, cardiac catheterisation, endoscopy, or genetic / molecular profiling depending on the suspected diagnosis. Done at the centre that will treat, ideally, so results integrate cleanly into the treatment plan.

  4. Multidisciplinary review (where indicated)

    Cancer, complex cardiac, transplant, and rare-disease cases should be reviewed by a multidisciplinary panel — surgical, medical, imaging, and pathology — before any treatment commits. Single-discipline plans for complex disease are a quality red flag.

When to escalate urgently

  • Acute worsening of established symptoms — sudden chest pain, shortness of breath at rest, neurological deficit, severe bleeding, persistent high fever.
  • Loss of consciousness, severe persistent vomiting, or any focal neurological event.
  • Symptoms in the early hours of onset that fit a time-sensitive treatment window (stroke, MI, sepsis) — every hour costs outcome.
  • If you are travelling internationally for treatment and develop these symptoms in transit, divert to the nearest emergency department; do not wait to reach the planned destination.

Before you book international travel

  • Confirm your specific diagnosis is fully worked up before you commit to a treatment plan abroad. Travelling for the workup is fine; travelling for treatment without the workup done is not.
  • Get your case reviewed remotely by the destination centre's team before you book flights — credible international patient programs review imaging + reports before they confirm the surgical plan.
  • Bring a digital + physical copy of your full medical record: imaging on USB drive in DICOM format, labs in PDF, current medication list with dosages, allergies, and any prior surgical reports.
  • Plan for longer recovery + post-discharge therapy continuation before you fly — the surgery itself is rarely the bottleneck.
  • Confirm that follow-up imaging and any necessary in-person reviews can be done at home — a treatment plan that requires repeat international trips is more burdensome (and more expensive) than the headline procedure.
Jinsi ukurasa huu ulivyoandaliwa

Mbinu na viwango vya uhariri

This carcinoid tumour overview is written by the editorial team from published Oncology sources and lists 0 treatment options offered by hospitals on our network. The page shows its last-updated date. Clinical descriptions are editorial — your treating clinician confirms what's right for your specific case.

  1. Taarifa za hospitali. Maelezo ya hospitali yanakusanywa kutoka vyanzo vya umma na tovuti za hospitali. Uidhinishaji (JCI, NABH na mengine) huonyeshwa pale tulipo na rekodi. Daima omba hospitali cheti chake cha sasa.
  2. Sifa za madaktari. Sifa, utaalamu na wasifu hutoka wasifu wa daktari hospitalini. Leseni hukaguliwa kwenye rejista ya baraza la kitaifa la madaktari tu pale wasifu unapoonyesha alama ya "Leseni imehakikiwa" yenye tarehe.
  3. Bei. Viwango vya bei ni vya kukadiria, vimekusanywa kutoka orodha za bei na vifurushi vya hospitali na huonyeshwa na tarehe ya mwisho ya kusasishwa. Unacholipa ni kile kilichoandikwa kwenye nukuu ya hospitali.
  4. Maandishi ya kitabibu. Imeandikwa na timu ya wahariri ya Medcasts kutoka vyanzo vya kliniki vilivyochapishwa. Isipokuwa ukurasa umetaja mhakiki kwa jina, haujakaguliwa na daktari.
  5. Uhuru. Hospitali haziwezi kulipa ili kubadilisha nafasi yao kwenye kurasa zetu.
Vyanzo vya taarifa za ukurasa huu
Peer-reviewed clinical guidelines (NCCN, ESMO, ESC, AHA, NICE — by indication)WHO ICD-11 condition classificationNational medical society treatment protocolsJCI accreditation registry

Carcinoid Tumour

Continue evaluating carcinoid tumour care

Condition overview is one entry. These hubs route the same care decision via specialty, surgeon, treatment, and destination — including the doctors actively treating carcinoid tumour.

Hatua inayofuata · Carcinoid Tumour

Free second opinion on your Carcinoid case.

Share imaging and the current plan. Multidisciplinary board returns a written opinion within 5–10 working days — no obligation to travel.

Pata makadirio ya bei bureMakadirio ya kina kutoka hospitali zilizoidhinishwa, bila malipo Maoni ya pili ya daktari bureMtaalamu anapitia ripoti zako Ongea na mratibuWhatsApp, barua pepe au simu