Carcinoid Syndrome: Causes, Symptoms & Treatments

What Is Carcinoid Syndrome?

Carcinoid syndrome is a group of symptoms you might get if you already have a type of cancer called carcinoid tumors. It starts when the tumors release chemicals into your bloodstream. The symptoms can be similar to other illnesses, like asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, and menopause. You may have episodes when your skin suddenly gets red and warm, you have trouble breathing, or you have a rapid heartbeat, for example.

Carcinoid tumors usually grow in your stomach and intestines, but you can also get them in your lungs, pancreas, or rarely, testicles or ovaries. If you have carcinoid syndrome, it usually means that your cancer has spread to another area, most often your lungs or liver.

Although there’s no cure for carcinoid tumors, treatments can help you live longer and better. You can also take steps to relieve the symptoms of carcinoid syndrome and feel more comfortable.

You have control over decisions about your treatment and your life. Find people you can talk to about your plans, your fears, and your feelings. Ask your doctor about support groups, where you can meet people who understand what you’re going through.

Causes :

You get carcinoid syndrome when your carcinoid tumors release hormones and proteins into your body. Where your tumors are will determine what substances they make.

When the tumors are in your digestive tract, a common place for them to grow, extra hormones usually go into a blood vessel that takes them to your liver, which makes them inactive. If your tumors have spread there, your liver won’t be able to do its job of breaking down those hormones. Instead, they may start moving through your bloodstream to affect different parts of your body and cause symptoms.

You could get carcinoid syndrome from tumors in the lungs, testes, or ovaries. In those cases, the extra hormones go directly into your bloodstream.

Symptoms:

People with carcinoid syndrome may have:

Skin that turns a pink, red, or purple color
Small, widened blood vessels on their face
Diarrhea
Shortness of breath or wheezing
Rapid heart rate
Sudden drops in blood pressure

Carcinoid syndrome can also cause complications. It’s rare, but you could get heart disease. Your heart valves may get thick and leak. Medicine can help, and in some cases you might need surgery.

Carcinoid crisis isn’t very common, but you might have a severe episode of blushing, breathing trouble, and confusion. This is an emergency that could be life-threatening, so get medical help right away.

Treatment :

To treat carcinoid syndrome, your doctors will need to treat your tumors. You could need just one or a combination of treatments. Medication may help with your related symptoms.

Surgery. Doctors may take out an entire organ that has tumors, such as your appendix, or remove only part of an affected area, such as a section of your bowel.

Depending on where the tumor is, surgeons may also use an electric current to burn it off or do cryosurgery to freeze it. Another option could be radiofrequency ablation. Your surgeon will use an instrument that sends electrical energy into the tumor to kill cancer cells.

Chemotherapy. Strong medicines can often kill your cancer cells or slow their growth. Some of these drugs are taken by mouth and others are injected into a vein.

Radiation. This treatment can destroy cancer cells or keep them from multiplying. The radiation can come from a machine outside your body, or your doctor may place a small amount of radioactive material inside your body, in or near the tumor.

Biologic drugs. This type of treatment, which is also called immunotherapy, strengthens your body’s defense system. Doctors inject drugs into your body that help your immune system kill cancer cells.

Drug therapy. Injected drugs such as lanreotide, octreotide, and pasireotide can help with skin flushing. They may also have a small effect on stopping tumor growth. Octreotide can ease diarrhea, too.

Global Treatment Services