Neuroendocrine Tumors Prevention

Neuroendocrine cancer develops in the neuroendocrine cells, which are similar in composition to nerve cells but release hormones like endocrine cells. They’re found in every organ, and thus neuroendocrine cancer can originate almost anywhere in the body. Most commonly, neuroendocrine tumors are found in the intestines, lungs, pancreas and appendix. About 15% of the time, though, it’s unclear where the cancer originated at the time of diagnosis.

Most neuroendocrine tumors are slow-growing and develop over several years. Many people never even know they have them. Other tumors, however, may grow, spread quickly and become fatal within one year of diagnosis.

Researchers are still trying to determine exactly what causes neuroendocrine tumors and why some tumors grow faster than others. So far, they’ve uncovered only a few known risk factors, including:

• Race. Overall, white people are much more likely to develop neuroendocrine tumors as compared with Blacks, although incidence varies greatly depending on the tumor site.
• Sex. Neuroendocrine cancer is slightly more common in women, although we do not know why.
• Inherited genetic traits. Certain inherited traits, such as multiple endocrine neoplasia and Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome, increase your risk for neuroendocrine tumors. However, it’s estimated that only about 17% of neuroendocrine tumors are caused by an underlying genetic condition, meaning the majority are sporadic.

While we don’t know exactly what causes neuroendocrine cancer and therefore can’t make specific suggestions on how to prevent it, it’s always a good idea to take steps to lower your overall risk of cancer through lifestyle modification. The following guidelines may be important for neuroendocrine cancer prevention.

• Not using any tobacco products
• Not drinking alcohol
• Maintaining a healthy body weight (e.g., body mass index below 25)
• Being physically active every day
• Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in processed meats

At Winship, we are dedicated to curing cancer through our extensive research program, which goes beyond developing novel treatments for cancer. We’re focused on improving all the ways the world prevents, detects, diagnoses, treats and survives all types of cancer, including neuroendocrine tumors.