Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors: Demographical, Clinicopathological, and Survival Data From Azerbaijan
Objectives: Neuroendocrine neoplasms consist of both well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors and poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas.[1] The study aims to report the demographic, clinical, pathological, and survival characteristics of patients with GEP-NETs.
Methods: Patients diagnosed with histologically confirmed GEP-NETs between 2018 and 2023 at the Liv Bona Dea International Hospital, Baku, Azerbaijan, were included in the study. Patient data, including clinical and histopathological characteristics, including age, gender, tumor location, clinical symptoms, type of treatment, ki-67 index, grade, and outcomes, were collected.
Results: A total of 51 patients were included in the study. The follow-up period of the patients varied from 3 to 74 months. The most frequent tumor location of the GEP-NETs was pancreas 19 (37%). Most of the tumors were non-functional (n=44, 85%), only a few showed functionality (n=7, 15%). Ki-67 index was high (>20%) in 6 (12%) of the patients. Eighteen of our patients had distant metastasis at the time of diagnosis (35%). The most common site for metastasis was liver (n=17, 33%).
Conclusion: To conclude, the high ki-67 index, functional tumor, high grade, and the presence of distant metastasis negatively affected the survival of GEP-NET patients in our setting.
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