The endocrine system consists of the hormone-producing cells. It conveys the hormones directly into the circulatory system from where it’s sent off into the remote target organs.
What’s a neuroendocrine tumor (NET)?
Neuroendocrine tumors are neoplasms which are formed by the cells of the endocrine system and the nervous system. These tumors may be shaped anywhere within the human body but are most commonly formed from the gut, where they are known as carcinoid tumors. The majority of these tumors are benign while others are cancerous. Considering that the cells of these neoplasms have standard attributes, they are treated as a set of cells.
There are different sorts of neuroendocrine tumors for example:
Lung neuroendocrine tumours (lung cancer NETs): These tumors have been formed from the lungs and the airways. They are most frequently shaped in the airways from where they branch off into the lungs through the windpipe.
NETs could be further categorized into 4 subtypes:
Average carcinoid tumours: These are formed from the lungs but because they behave like regular cells, they cause little if any pain. They tend to develop gradually.
A typical carcinoid tumours: exactly like typical carcinoid tumors, these tumors behave like normal cells and develop gradually. Nonetheless, these tumors may be well-differentiated and may spread into the other areas of the human body.
They have a tendency to grow quickly and frequently spread to other areas of the human body.
Big cell lung neuroendocrine carcinomas: These tumors are aggressive tumors which grow very fast. They are quite poorly differentiated and may possibly spread to other areas of the human body.
These tumors are called depending on the kind of hormone they produce like insulinoma, gastrinoma, ACTHome, VIPoma, somatostatinoma, glucagonoma, etc..
Medullary carcinoma: Medullary carcinoma is named after its appearance since it looks like the cells of the medulla oblongata. This sort of tumor arises from the mid-layer cells of a specific organ.
Parathyroid cancer: In parathyroid cancer, malignant cancer cells have been shaped from the thyroid gland. It’s an uncommon kind of cancer.
It develops distant metastases, sometimes, after long intervals. It’s a rare and cancerous tumor.
This tumor is cancerous in 10 percent of the scenarios.
Paraganglioma: This is a really rare neuroendocrine neoplasm which develops in different areas of the human body such as the throat, head, stomach, etc.. They are categorized with a solid vascularisation and can be benign in the majority of the circumstances.
Pituitary gland tumors: The adrenal gland is a small gland that’s part of the endocrine system. These microbes have been formed from the cells of the pituitary gland and they don’t metastasize into the other areas of the human body. But they may expand and grow into the neighboring locations.
Merkel cell carcinoma: This is a kind of non-melanoma skin cancer that begins from the Merkel cells. They generally begin in the fields of the skin that’s quite vulnerable to the sun. It’s an uncommon kind of tumor, however, is very aggressive and could possibly spread into the other areas of the human body.