Behandling af neuroendokrine gastrointestinale tumorer

The prognosis of neuroendocrine tumours of the gastrointestinal tract and pancreas is difficult to estimate due to their heterogeneous nature. Survival without dissemination may reach 90%, while metastases reduce the 5-year survival to less than 50%. Radical surgery offers the only possibility of cure. Palliative therapy includes surgery and intra-arterial embolization of hepatic metastases, chemotherapy, biotherapy with interferon-alpha and radionuclear treatment. Tumour-targeted therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors, mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors or monoclonal antibodies are under investigation in phase-III studies.