What Is Carcinoid Disease?

Carcinoid disease is a set of symptoms that occurs because of the presence of carcinoid tumors; a person is not classified as having carcinoid disease until the tumors begin causing symptoms.

Causes

• Carcinoid disease is caused by slow growing carcinoid tumors usually found in the small intestine. The tumors themselves do not cause any problems until they begin overproducing the neurotransmitter serotonin, causing bodily symptoms.

Symptoms

• The most common symptoms of carcinoid disease are skin flushing and discoloration, diarrhea, abdominal cramping and wheezing.

Diagnosis

• Carcinoid disease is difficult to detect in its early stages because the symptoms also mimic other, less serious diseases like allergies, menopause or asthma. Blood tests can be administered to check for an overabundance of serotonin.

Treatment

• To treat carcinoid disease, the tumors must be surgically removed or reduced. If the tumors have spread, symptoms can only controlled through dietary changes (to reduce skin flushing) and prescription medications.

Significance

• According to Carcinoid.org, approximately one out of every 100 people have carcinoid tumors that do not spread or cause any problems; those that do affect less than five percent of the United States population.