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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffTests and procedures used to diagnose carcinoid tumors include:
- Blood tests. If you have a carcinoid tumor, your blood may contain high levels of a protein caused by hormones secreted by a carcinoid tumor.
- Urine tests. People with carcinoid tumors have excess levels of a chemical in their urine that's produced when the body breaks down hormones secreted by carcinoid tumors.
- Imaging tests. Imaging tests, including a computerized tomography (CT) scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), ultrasound, octreotide scan and X-ray, may help your doctor pinpoint the carcinoid tumor's location.
- A scope or camera that sees inside your body. Your doctor may use a long, thin tube equipped with a lens or camera to examine areas inside your body. An endoscopy, which involves passing a scope down your throat, may help your doctor see inside your gastrointestinal tract. Bronchoscopy, using a scope passed down your throat and into your lungs, can help find lung carcinoid tumors. Passing a scope through your rectum (colonoscopy) can help diagnose rectal carcinoid tumors. To see inside your small intestine, your doctor may recommend a test using a pill-sized camera that you swallow (capsule endoscopy).
- A biopsy. A sample of tissue from the tumor (biopsy) may be collected to confirm your diagnosis. What type of biopsy you'll undergo depends on where your tumor is located. In some cases a surgeon may use a needle to draw cells out of the tumor. In other cases, a biopsy may be collected during surgery. The tissue is sent to a laboratory for testing to determine the types of cells in the tumor and how aggressive those cells appear under the microscope.
References
- Kulke MH. Clinical presentation and management of carcinoid tumors. Hematology/Oncology Clinics of North America. 2007;21:433.
- Pasieka JL. Carcinoid tumors. Surgical Clinics of North America. 2009;89:1123.
- Chang BB, et al. Neuroendocrine carcinoma. In: Kantarjian HM, et al. MD Anderson Manual of Medical Oncology. New York, N.Y.: McGraw Hill; 2006. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2790810. Accessed Aug. 6, 2010.
- Lung carcinoid tumor. American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/cid/documents/webcontent/003117-pdf.pdf. Accessed Aug. 6, 2010.
- Scherubel H, et al. Neuroendocrine tumors of the stomach (gastric carcinoids) are on the rise: Small tumors, small problems? Endoscopy. 2010;42:664.
- Sitaraman SV, et al. Diagnosis of the carcinoid syndrome and tumor localization. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 3, 2010.
- Jensen RT. Endocrine tumors of the gastrointestinal tract and pancreas. In: Fauci AS, et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw Hill; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2886966. Accessed Aug. 6, 2010.
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