Neuroendocrine tumors, symptoms and signs to understand

Neuroendocrine tumors are a rare disease that often occurs in the stomach and pancreas. The incidence rate is relatively high in newborns. Males are more likely to get this disease than females. Patients will experience redness of the skin and diarrhea, and some may also have skin cancer.

1. Carcinoid syndrome: sudden or persistent flushing of the head, face, and trunk skin, which may be induced by alcohol, strenuous activity, mental stress, or eating foods containing 3-parahydroxyaniline such as chocolate and bananas; mild or moderate diarrhea, which does not necessarily coexist with skin flushing and may be related to increased intestinal motility and may be accompanied by abdominal pain; carcinoid-related heart diseases, such as pulmonary artery stenosis and tricuspid regurgitation; other symptoms such as skin telangiectasia, pellagra, and occasionally the triad of dermatitis, dementia, and diarrhea.

2. Gastrinoma: It often manifests as Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. Abdominal pain and diarrhea are common. The diarrhea is intermittent, often steatorrhea, and there may also be recurrent peptic ulcers.

3. Insulinoma: The clinical symptoms are related to the excessive secretion of insulin by tumor cells. The characteristic manifestation is neurotic hypoglycemia, which is common in the early morning or after exercise. Other manifestations include blurred vision, mental abnormalities, etc.

4. Glucagonoma: It is often accompanied by excessive glucagon secretion. The typical manifestation is necrotizing migratory erythema accompanied by anemia and thrombocytopenia. About half of the patients may have moderate diabetes symptoms. They may also have painful red tongue, chapped lips, venous thrombosis, intestinal obstruction and constipation.

5. VIPoma: The typical symptoms are Verner-Morrison syndrome, also known as pancreatic cholera syndrome, which is manifested by watery diarrhea, hypokalemia, gastric acid deficiency and metabolic acidosis.