Presentation and survival of gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors in young adults versus older patients.

Overview

BACKGROUND: A minority of patients with gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) is diagnosed at younger age. This population-based study explores the broad clinical and pathologic features of the youngest 5% of adult patients with GEP-NETs. METHODS: A retrospective study of the National Cancer Database (NCDB) of patients with a primary GEP-NET was performed. Patients were stratified by age. Kaplan-Meier and multivariate Cox proportional hazards analyses were performed. RESULTS: We identified 31,983 patients with a diagnosis of a GEP-NET and only 5% of patients were under the age of 35. Young patients were found to have greater proportions of localized, well differentiated disease. On multivariate analysis, young age, well differentiated histology, early stage, and surgical intervention were associated with lower risk of mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Young patients with GEP-NETs tend to have earlier stage of presentation and well differentiated tumors, which may be most amenable to surgical intervention.