[Tumors of the endocrine pancreas]

The neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas are rare, but belong to the most common endocrine neoplasms of the abdomen. In most cases, they show a characteristic macroscopic and microscopic pathology. On the basis of morphological, immunohistological and biological criteria, the WHO classification distinguishes between well differentiated tumors with benign or uncertain behavior, well differentiated (low grade malignant) carcinomas and poorly differentiated (high grade malignant) carcinomas. The functional tumor entities on which the classification is based are briefly described and discussed.