Biology and management of gastric carcinoid tumours: a review

In recent times gastric carcinoid tumours have become the subject of substantial clinical interest as knowledge of their biological background and clinical importance has increased Gastric carcinoid tumours have long been considered rare lesions, amounting to less than 2% of all carcinoid tumours and less than 1% of all stomach neoplasms. New large databases suggest that the prevalence of gastric carcinoid is rising, with a true value now closer to 5% of all carcinoids. A tripartite classification system for gastric carcinoid tumours is now in common use: tumours associated with chronic atrophic gastritis; tumours associated with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome; and sporadic lesions. Gastric carcinoids associated with hypergastrinaemia are relatively benign, while sporadic lesions require aggressive surgical management. Gastric carcinoids, however, can be managed initially by endoscopic excision of accessible tumours, followed by regular endoscopic surveillance.