Clinical aspects of carcinoid tumours

Carcinoid tumours are the most commonly occurring gut endocrine tumours; they are characterized by relatively slow rate of growth, local spread and distant metastases as compared with other malignant neoplasms. The carcinoid syndrome occurs in less than 10% of patients with carcinoid tumours when liver metastases are present. The combination of symptoms, humoral markers and imaging techniques provide an optimal means for the identification of carcinoid tumours and their metastases.