Gastrointestinal (GI) Oncology Program

Patient and Family Education

Gastrointestinal Carcinoid Tumor

Stages

If a patient has a gastrointestinal carcinoid tumor, the doctor will order more tests to find out if the cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body. This process, called staging, helps the doctor to plan treatment.

The following stages are used to describe gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors:

Localized: The cancer is found in the appendix, the colon or rectum, the small intestine, or the stomach, but it has not spread to other parts of the body. Treatment may be one of the following:

If the cancer starts in the appendix, the treatment will probably be surgery to remove the appendix (appendectomy) with or without removal of part of the colon (hemicolectomy) and lymph nodes.
If the cancer started in the rectum, the treatment will probably be simple surgery to remove the cancer, surgery using electric current to burn the cancer away, surgery to remove part of the rectum, or surgery to remove the anus and part of the rectum. An opening will be made for waste to pass out of the body (colostomy) into a disposable bag attached near the colostomy (colostomy bag).
If the cancer started in the small intestine, the treatment will probably be surgery to remove part of the bowel (bowel resection). Lymph nodes may also be taken out and looked at under a microscope to see if they contain cancer.
If the cancer started in the stomach, pancreas, or colon, the treatment will probably be surgery to remove the organ affected by the cancer and possibly other nearby organs.

Regional: The cancer has spread from the appendix, colon or rectum, stomach, or small intestine to nearby tissues or lymph nodes (small, bean-shaped structures that are found throughout the body that produce and store infection-fighting cells). The treatment will probably be surgery to remove the organ affected by the cancer and possibly other nearby organs.

Metastatic: The cancer has spread to other parts of the body such as the liver, bones, or lungs. Treatment may be one of the following:

Surgery to relieve symptoms caused by the cancer. Surgery to freeze and kill the cancer (cryosurgery) may also be performed.
Chemotherapy to relieve symptoms caused by the cancer.
Chemotherapy injected directly into the hepatic artery to block the artery and kill cancer cells growing in the liver.
Radiation therapy to relieve symptoms caused by the cancer.
Radioactive substances injected into the cancer to relieve the symptoms caused by the cancer.
Biological or immunological therapy.
A clinical trial of new combinations of chemotherapy drugs.

Recurrent: Recurrent cancer is cancer that has come back (recurred) after it has been treated. It may come back in the first place it was found or in another part of the body. Treatment will depend on many factors, including where the cancer came back and what treatment the patient had previously received. Clinical trials are also studying new treatments.

This page was last updated on: October 5, 2009.

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