Key Statistics About Gastrointestinal Neuroendocrine Tumors

Although the exact number isn’t known, about 8,000 neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) that start in the gastrointestinal tract (the stomach, intestine, appendix, colon, or rectum) are diagnosed each year in the United States. The recorded annual incidence of neuroendocrine tumors is approximately 1 to 2 cases per 100,000 people.

The number of diagnosed NETs has been increasing for many years. The reason for this is unknown. Some think it may be the result of more medical tests being done to look for something else and finding neuroendocrine tumors incidentally. Since many NETs never cause any symptoms, a lot of people with neuroendocrine tumors probably are never diagnosed. These tumors might only be seen during an autopsy when a person dies from something else, or when someone has surgery or imaging tests for an unrelated condition.

The most common locations of gastrointestinal (GI) neuroendocrine tumors are the small intestine and the rectum. Other common sites include the colon (large intestine), the appendix, and the stomach.

The average age of people diagnosed with GI neuroendocrine tumors is early 60s. Neuroendocrine tumors are more common in African Americans and Black people than in White people, and are slightly more common in women than men.