neuroendocrine tumor
Meaning of neuroendocrine tumor: Neuroendocrine tumors arise from hormone releasing cells scattered throughout the body and can secrete excess hormones causing varied symptoms.
Definition of neuroendocrine tumor
A neuroendocrine tumor develops from neuroendocrine cells, a type of cell found scattered throughout the body, including the digestive tract, lungs, and certain glands, that share features of both nerve cells and hormone producing cells. These cells normally release hormones in response to signals from the nervous system, helping regulate processes such as digestion.
Neuroendocrine tumors include several recognized types, such as carcinoid tumors, most often found in the digestive tract or lungs, pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, medullary thyroid carcinoma, and pheochromocytoma, a tumor arising from the adrenal gland. Some, though not all, neuroendocrine tumors secrete excess amounts of hormones, producing symptoms that depend on which hormone is involved.
Because neuroendocrine tumors can arise in so many different locations and vary widely in whether and how much hormone they secrete, their behavior ranges from slow growing to aggressive, and evaluation typically includes both imaging and specific hormone related blood or urine testing.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
A neuroendocrine tumor was identified in the pancreas during evaluation of the patient's symptoms.
Good to know
Not every neuroendocrine tumor secretes hormones in excess, so the presence or absence of hormone related symptoms depends on the specific tumor rather than being a universal feature of this category.
Word origin
Where “neuroendocrine tumor” comes from
Formed from Greek neuron, meaning nerve, and endocrine, from Greek endon, meaning within, and krinein, meaning to secrete, combined with tumor, from Latin tumere, meaning to swell.