The Goals of Treatment
When treating carcinoid tumors and carcinoid syndrome, your doctor is most concerned with preserving your overall health and lifestyle. The treatment goals are to remove the carcinoid tumor or reduce its size, and to provide you with a "patient-friendly" way to control the disabling symptoms caused by carcinoid syndrome.
Removing or Reducing the Size of the Tumor
The first choice in treating carcinoid tumors is often removing the tumor or reducing its size using surgery. However, if patients have severe carcinoid syndrome, it may mean that carcinoid tumors have metastasized to (spread into) the liver. In this case, some doctors may suggest a procedure called hepatic artery embolization — either with or without chemotherapy. Hepatic artery embolization decreases blood supply to the liver in an attempt to kill the tumor cells, which may lead to less discomfort from symptoms.
Controlling Disabling Symptoms
Although one goal is to remove or reduce the size of your tumor, it is equally important to make sure that you gain control of your symptoms. Symptoms of carcinoid syndrome, particularly diarrhea, can be troubling, for both medical as well as social reasons. To relieve symptoms, your health care professional will probably discuss different types of therapy with you.
Your treatment may depend on the size of the tumor, whether or not it has spread, and where the tumor is located. Your health care professional will want to discuss all of these points with you.
