Twenty years of gastrointestinal carcinoids.

Abstract

Between 1946 and 1966, a total of 72 patients with gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors were seen. Fifty-six were diagnosed antemortem by surgery or sigmoidoscopy, while 16 were incidental autopsy findings. There were 40 males and 32 females, with an age span of 12 to 87 years. The most common location was the ileum (31.9%), followed by rectum (27.7%) and appendix (22.2%); 20.8% had metastasized at the time of diagnosis, 86.7% of the primary tumors with metastases were 2.0 cm or more in size. No patient had the carcinoid syndrome, although 4 patients had hepatic metastases; 7% of the total group had an associated peptic ulcer and 32% of the group had a second neoplasm. None had tumors of the adrenal, parathyroid, pituitary, or pancreas, although one had a papillary thyroid carcinoma. Treatment consisted of surgical resection in most cases. The mean follow-up was 5.8 years, with a range of 2 months to 20 years. The mean survival of those with metastases present at the time of the diagnosis was 4.9 years, while the mean survival of those without metastases was 8.0 years. Nine patients died of unrelated disorders, and 9 died from the tumor of postoperative complications from tumor therapy.