Endocrine Oncology

A viscous yellow liquid is poured into a Petri dish.

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are a heterogeneous group of tumors that originate from endocrine cells located in e.g. the pancreas, the thyroid and in the gastrointestinal and respiratory tract. These cells have ability to secrete a variety of metabolically active products including peptide hormones and amines, which cause specific clinical symptoms. As the majority of NETs grow slowly they are commonly diagnosed late, which involves a higher risk for metastatic disease, and a worse prognosis. Our work aims to improve the diagnostics, and to develop new treatments of NETs. We are also engaged in clinical trials to evaluate new treatments.

Description of our research

The neuroendocrine oncology group is part of the Centre of Excellence for Neuroendocrine Tumors at Uppsala University and Uppsala University Hospital, one of the world leading centers for diagnosis and treatment of neuroendocrine tumors. We are also part of U-CAN an initiative to build a biobank of blood and tumor samples from patients with different sorts of cancer. Our large collections of tumor samples and clinical data are of great importance for the different lines of research that we pursue.

The research focuses on tumors derived from the small intestine, and studies e.g. the genetics of sporadic and familial NETs. In other projects the expression and clinical impact of neuroendocrine markers in neuroblastomas, breast cancer and small intestinal NETs are studied. Through the Nordic collaboration several projects directed towards neuroendocrine carcinomas are performed.

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