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GENERAL FEATURES OF GASTROINTESTINAL NEUROENDOCRINE TUMORS
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Gastrointestinal (GI) neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are tumors derived from the diffuse neuroendocrine system of the GI tract; that system is composed of amine- and acid-producing cells with different hormonal profiles, depending on the site of origin. The tumors historically are divided into GI-NETs (in the GI tract) (also frequently called carcinoid tumors) and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs), although newer pathologic classifications have proposed that they all be classified as GI-NETs. The term GI-NET has been proposed to replace the term carcinoid; however, the term carcinoid is widely used, and many are not familiar with this change. Accordingly, this chapter will use the term GI-NETs (carcinoids). These tumors originally were classified as APUDomas (for amine precursor uptake and decarboxylation), as were pheochromocytomas, melanomas, and medullary thyroid carcinomas, because they share certain cytochemical features as well as various pathologic, biologic, and molecular features (Table 51-1). It was originally proposed that APUDomas had a similar embryonic origin from neural crest cells, but it is now known the peptide-secreting cells are not of neuroectodermal origin. Nevertheless, the concept of APUDomas is useful because these tumors have important similarities as well as some differences (Table 51-1). In this section, the areas of similarity between pNETs and GI-NETs (carcinoids) will be discussed together, and areas in which there are important differences will be discussed separately.
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