Four patients presented with upper abdominal pain. Serum gastrin level was elevated in two cases. The endoscopic appearances and the endoscopic biopsy histology were not diagnostic. Lymph node and liver metastasis were seen in four patients each. The median duration of follow-up was one year.
Gastric carcinoids have varied etiopathogenesis.
These may arise in a background of hypergastrinemic conditions or may be sporadic. Most appear to be slow growing but aggressive neoplasms are capable of distant metastasis. The article gives a review of the literature concerning carcinoid tumours of the colon and rectum. Carcinoid tumours of the rectum are more common than of the colon, although these tumours are rarities. The carcinoid tumour grows slowly and the patients can survive for years with the disease.