APUD tumors of the gastrointestinal tract

Abstract

Summary The kaleidoscopic array of clinical APUD cell endocrinopathies involving the gastrointestinal tract has come to the forefront because of the almost explosive discovery and chemical identification of amine and polypeptide humoral agents. Their interrelationships and their unification under the embryologic umbrella of the APUD cells system provides a basis for understanding their unique biologic functions. The abnormalities in the system have been called the neurocristopathies. The embryology, cytology, biochemistry, physiology and pathology have been presented as a background for the diagnosis and treatment of the gastrointestinal endocrine syndromes; such information may already be out of date—the cascade of new information continues unabated. Interestingly, therapeutic advances are progressing almost as rapidly as the proliferation of basic science information, on which treatment will ultimately be based.