Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors

Definition

Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) are rare cancers that form in the hormone-producing cells of the pancreas. They are different from the more common pancreatic adenocarcinomas and can be functional or nonfunctional, depending on whether they produce hormones.

Characteristics

Functional PNETs cause symptoms related to hormone overproduction, such as low blood sugar, diarrhea, or ulcers. Nonfunctional PNETs may grow silently until they are large. PNETs generally grow more slowly than pancreatic adenocarcinomas but can still be aggressive.

Diagnosis and Prognosis

Diagnosis includes imaging tests like CT, MRI, or PET scans, blood and urine tests for hormone levels, and biopsy. Prognosis depends on tumor type, size, grade, and spread. Functional tumors diagnosed early often have a better outlook.

Treatment

Treatment options include surgery, targeted therapy, somatostatin analogs to control hormone symptoms, chemotherapy, and peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT). The treatment strategy is based on tumor behavior and patient condition.

Last Revised: 12 May , 2025