Diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines for gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors (recommended by the Polish Network of Neuroendocrine Tumors)

We have recently observed an increased interest in gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP NET). They are rare cancer types and therefore collaborative effort of specialists in various disciplines of medicine is necessary to work out the diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines. In this publication we present general guidelines of the Polish Network of Neuroendocrine Tumors for the management of patients with GEP NET, developed at the Round Table Conference which took place in Kliczków near Wrocław in November 2007. In the subsequent parts of this publication, we present the rules of diagnostic and therapeutic management of: - endocrine tumors of the stomach and duodenum (including gastrinoma); - pancreatic endocrine tumors; - neuroendocrine tumors of the small intestine and the appendix; - neuroendocrine tumors of the colon. We hope that the proposed guidelines by Polish and foreign experts representing various disciplines of medicine, including endocrinology, gastroenterology, surgery, oncology, nuclear medicine and pathomorphology, will become a useful tool in the diagnostics and treatment of these patients.