ISSN:
1536-5964
Content:
Patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NET) often go through a long phase between onset of symptoms and initial diagnosis. Assessment of time to diagnosis and pre-clinical pathway in patients with gastroenteropancreatic NET (GEP-NET) with regard to metastases and symptoms. Retrospective analysis of patients with GEP-NET at a tertiary referral center from 1984 to 2019; inclusion criteria: Patients ≥18 years, diagnosis of GEP-NET; statistical analysis using non-parametrical methods. Four hundred eighty-six patients with 488 tumors were identified; median age at first diagnosis (478/486, 8 unknown) was 59 years; 52.9% male patients. Pancreatic NET: 143/488 tumors; 29.3%; small intestinal NET: 145/488 tumors, 29.7%. 128/303 patients (42.2%) showed NET specific and 122/486 (25%) patients other tumor-specific symptoms. 222/279 patients had distant metastases at initial diagnosis (187/222 liver metastases). 154/488 (31.6%) of GEP-NET were incidental findings. Median time from tumor manifestation (e.g., symptoms related to NET) to initial diagnosis across all entities was 19.5 (95% CI: 12–28) days. No significant difference in patients with or without distant metastases (median 73 vs 105 days, P = .42). A large proportion of GEP-NET are incidental findings and only about half of all patients are symptomatic at the time of diagnosis. We did not find a significant influence of the presence of metastases on time to diagnosis, which shows a large variability with a median of 〈30 days.
In:
Medicine, Baltimore, Md. : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 1922-, Band 100, Heft 37 (2021), Seite 1-9, Artikel-ID: e27276, 1536-5964
In:
volume:100
In:
year:2021
In:
number:37
In:
pages:1-9
In:
extent:9
In:
elocationid:e27276
Language:
English
DOI:
10.1097/MD.0000000000027276
URN:
urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-645437
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