Carcinoid syndrome
Symptoms & Signs
Most carcinoid tumors have no symptoms. They only produce the syndrome about 10% of the time. When symptoms do occur, they may include:
Sometimes symptoms are brought on by physical exertion, or eating or drinking things such as blue cheeses, chocolate, or red wine.
Diagnosis & Tests
Most of these tumors are found during abdominal surgery. A physical examination may show: - Heart valve lesions
- Signs of niacin-deficiency disease (pellagra)
Tests may include: - 5-HIAA levels in urine
- Blood tests (including serotonin blood test)
- CT and MRI scan
- OctreoScan (to identify most carcinoids and other neuroendocrine tumors)
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