Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Apr 22;8(4):e62487.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0062487. Print 2013.

The epidemiology of neuroendocrine tumors in Taiwan: a nation-wide cancer registry-based study

Hui-Jen Tsai  1 , Chun-Chieh Wu, Chia-Rung Tsai, Sheng-Fung Lin, Li-Tzong Chen, Jeffrey S Chang
Affiliations

The epidemiology of neuroendocrine tumors in Taiwan: a nation-wide cancer registry-based study

Hui-Jen Tsai et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: The epidemiology of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) is not well illustrated, particularly for Asian countries.

Methods: The age-standardized incidence rates and observed survival rates of NETs diagnosed in Taiwan from January 1, 1996 to December 31, 2008 were calculated using data of the Taiwan Cancer Registry (TCR) and compared to those of the Norwegian Registry of Cancer (NRC) and the US Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program.

Results: During the study period, a total of 2,187 NET cases were diagnosed in Taiwan, with 62% males and a mean age of 57.9 years-old. The age-standardized incidence rate of NETs increased from 0.30 per 100,000 in 1996 to 1.51 per 100,000 in 2008. The most common primary sites were rectum (25.4%), lung and bronchus (20%) and stomach (7.4%). The 5-year observed survival was 50.4% for all NETs (43.4% for men and 61.8% for women, P<0.0001). The best 5-year observed survivals for NETs by sites were rectum (80.9%), appendix (75.7%), and breast (64.8%).

Conclusions: Compared to the data of Norway and the US, the age-standardized incidence rate of NETs in Taiwan is lower and the major primary sites are different, whereas the long-term outcome is similar. More studies on the pathogenesis of NETs are warranted to devise preventive strategies and improve treatment outcomes for NETs.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. The age-standardized incidence rate of neuroendocrine tumors, Taiwan, 1996–2008.
A) The age-standardized incidence rate overall and by sex; B) The age-standardized incidence rate by primary sites.
Figure 2
Figure 2. The comparison of male to female case number ratios by histologic subtypes in different primary sites, Taiwan.
Abbreviations: AC = adenocarcinoma; NET = neuroendocrine tumor; SCC = squamous cell carcinoma. P-values were generated by chi-square tests to compare the distribution of sex between AC or SCC and NET.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Hauso O, Gustafsson BI, Kidd M, Waldum HL, Drozdov I, et al. (2008) Neuroendocrine tumor epidemiology: contrasting Norway and North America. Cancer 113: 2655–2664. - PubMed
    1. Yao JC, Hassan M, Phan A, Dagohoy C, Leary C, et al. (2008) One hundred years after “carcinoid”: epidemiology of and prognostic factors for neuroendocrine tumors in 35,825 cases in the United States. J Clin Oncol 26: 3063–3072. - PubMed
    1. Oberg KE (2010) Gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors. Ann Oncol 21 Suppl 7: vii72–80. - PubMed
    1. Oberg KE (2012) The management of neuroendocrine tumours: current and future medical therapy options. Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol) 24: 282–293. - PubMed
    1. Ito T, Sasano H, Tanaka M, Osamura RY, Sasaki I, et al. (2010) Epidemiological study of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors in Japan. J Gastroenterol 45: 234–243. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources