Peter Hyrdel, Ivan Režňák, Ján Staško, Hubert Poláček, Lukáš Plank, Rudolf Hyrdel
Neuroendocrine tumours (NET) of the gastrointestinal tract are quite heterogeneous disorders often with better prognosis than classic cancers. Despite the significant rise in NETs incidence, they are still considered rare diseases. Due to the rare nature of NET, many patients suffer needlessly for very long time before the cause of their problem is detected, thus it is important to think about NET in such _settings. The average time needed for the diagnoses of NET is 5 to 7 years, unfortunately in some cases a large proportion of patients will not out-live to know their proper diagnosis. This fact about NET is attributed to their diverse symptomatology, as well as to their small-size that could be beyond the capability of classic tumour imaging methods (such as CT, MR, PET, and USG, AG) to detect them. In this article we highlight the most common reasons why patients with neuroendocrine tumours visit their doctors; we also propose sequence of diagnostic methods and possibilities for practitioner gastroenterologists, as well as situations where it is better to send patients for a higher specialised centre. Statistical data clearly show a far longer and better survival rate for centres treated NET patients, compared to those treated by experts individually.