This website is intended for an international audience, excluding the UK, United States, Canada and France
This website is intended for an international audience, excluding the UK, United States, Canada and France

Where do NETs start?

A cancer is usually named after the part of the body where it first started to grow. This is known as the primary site or the primary tumour. If the cancer cells spread from the primary site to another part of the body, it is called a secondary cancer or a metastasis.

In NETs, primary tumours can occur almost anywhere in the body but are most commonly found in the gastrointestinal tract (digestive system), pancreas and lungs.

They can also start in other regions, such as the ovaries and testes, and can spread to the liver or bone.

Compared with other cancers, NETs are small and usually grow slowly over a number of years but some NETs can grow faster than others. NETs do not usually cause noticeable symptoms until the tumours have already grown and spread. By the time they are found, more than 50% of NETs will have spread to other parts of the body.

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Diagnosis and Testing

Diagnosing NETs

Find out how NETs are diagnosed and the tests that healthcare professionals may use to monitor NETs.

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Treating NETs

Treating NETs

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This website is intended for an international audience, excluding the UK, United States, Canada and France. This website has been developed by Ipsen in collaboration with those living with NETs and the healthcare professionals who care for them. Ipsen would like to thank everyone for their valuable insights and stories. All names used on this website are not necessarily real names. Visit www.ipsen.com for more information about us. Website design and development by Kanga Health Ltd. ALL-ALL-002300/November 2020