Neuroendocrine Tumour (NET) Incidence Significantly Increases in Canada
An original article published in Cancer, February 15, 2015, by the American Cancer Society showed that the incidence of Neuroendocrine Tumours has markedly increased over the course of 15 years in Canada.
Exploring the Rising Incidence of Neuroendocrine Tumors: A Population-Based Analysis of Epidemiology, Metastatic Presentation, and Outcomes, by Dr. Julie Hallet, MD, et al., is a population based, retrospective cohort study that looked at adult patients with a NET diagnosis from 1994 to 2009 in Ontario, Canada. Five thousand six hundred nineteen NET cases were identified.
The results showed that the incidence of Neuroendocrine Tumours has increased from 2.48 to 5.86 per 100,000 per year and the proportion of metastases at presentation decreased from 29% to 13%. This is the first study that suggests that an increase in incidence of NETs may be due to increased detection. The study also found that in addition to the primary tumor site and metastatic disease, that low income and rural residence, indicate worse survival outcomes for patients with NETs.