Peter Hyrdel1, Sohaib Agouba1, Ivan Režňák2, Ľudovít Laca3, Rudolf Hyrdel1
30 years ago, neuroendocrine neoplasias (NEN) were considered a rare group of tumours. The recent rise of their incidence is believed to be due to the constant perfection of diagnostic methods, as well as a significant impact of worsening life conditions and the growth of uncontrolled use of some newly introduced medicaments. According to new estimates, the incidence of NEN in 2013 were 7.5 -fold higher than that in 1980. NEN represent a very heterogeneous group of tumours with a wide variety of clinical symptoms. Such myriad of symptoms in many cases causes delay in diagnosis. The average time from which the first reported symptoms to the confirmed diagnosis is believed to be between 5-8 years. The disease usually affects all host´s endothelial tissues that are part of neuroendocrine system (NES). The most common is the gastrointestinal tract (70-80 %), NEN can also be found elsewhere e.g. in the pulmonary, urogenital tract etc. Although these tumours in the most cases have better prognosis than local cancer, however, there is enormous growth in their prevalence (approximately 20 fold) over the past decades. At present, the number of patients with NEN is equal to that of patients living with pancreatic, stomach, and oesophageal cancer. There is a fundamental change in our understanding of NEN. In the past, they were considered to be benign conditions, now we consider them to be potentially malignant. Nevertheless, patients treated in specialized centres could survive 15 to 20 years, which was not possible long ago. Somatostatin analogues particular long acting ones merit the recognition as the cause of longevity and improvement of life quality, in patients with NEN. The general topic of NEN is beyond the scope of this article, the authors focus on tumours which gastroenterologists face in clinical practice, and they warn about symptoms which should not be overlooked by physicians.