Pancreas carcinoid tumor

Indications Carcinoma of the pancreas, carcinoid tumor, Hodgkin s disease Category Alkylating agent Half-life 35 minutes... 

Streptozocin produces remission in 50 to 60% of patients with islet cell carcinomas of the pancreas. It is also useful in malignant carcinoid tumors. 

Carcinoids are the most common tumors arising from the diffuse neuroendocrine system of the GI tract and pancreas. Derived primarily from enterochromaffin cells, these tumors are widely distributed in the body but found with greatest frequency in the GI tract (74%) and respiratory tract (25%). Carcinoids are often classified as APUDomas (flmine precursor uptake and decarboxylation) because of the ability of enterochromaffin cells to take up and decarboxylate amino acid precursors of biogenic amines. In this regard, carcinoid tumors share certain pathological and biological similarities with pheochromocytomas. 

Berger G, Trouillas J, Bloch B, et al. Multihormonal carcinoid tumor of the pancreas. Secreting growth hormone-releasing factor as a cause of acromegaly. Cancer. 1984 54 2097-2108. 

Akerstrom G (1996) Management of carcinoid tumors of the stomach, duodenum, and pancreas. World J Surg 20 173-182... 

Gastrin-producing cells are not evident in the adult pancreas, yet gastrinomas were previously considered to be predominantly pancreatic endocrine tumors. Currently, it is apparent that at least 50% of the lesions occur in the duodenum. In much the same fashion as carcinoid tumors, the majority of lesions are metastatic or multiple at diagnosis. 

For practical purposes, a serotonin-producing tumor should be regarded as a carcinoid, and if it is in the pancreas, the possibility of metastasis from the gastrointestinal tract or elsewhere should be ruled out. 

Gastric adenocarcinoma, GIT carcinoids, islet pancreas tumors, mucinous adenocarcinomas of ovary, bronchoalveolar carcinomas of lung, adenocarcinomas of urinary bladder... 

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