Raising awareness of neuroendocrine cancers around the world

How do NET cancers affect the body?

NET cancers can have a number of different effects on the body. Some NETs produce abnormally large amounts of hormones and some have a related syndrome, such as carcinoid syndrome, which means that the hormones that are secreted cause noticeable symptoms like flushing, diarrhea, cramps, asthma-like wheezing, heart problems and skin changes.

The tumors that arise in the pancreas can be classified as functioning and non-functioning. The functioning tumors will produce a number of clinical syndromes that are related to where they originate. For example, an insulinoma will oversecrete insulin and gastrinomas are gastrin-secreting tumors. The non-functioning tumors, which account for around 30-40% of pancreatic tumors, secrete certain hormones and peptides like other NETs but the release of these chemicals does not cause an identifiable syndrome or collection of symptoms. This can make diagnosis difficult and explains why so many cases are picked up incidentally.

NET cancers may also spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body. The most common sites for these secondary cancers are the liver, bones and lymph nodes.