Neuro-endocrine Tumor
The 51 year old, Irrfan Khan , in his
tweet on 5th of march ,told his fans that he is suffering from a
rare disease , in his next tweet on 16th of March he came up with
the name of the disease he is suffering from i.e. NEUROENDOCRINE TUMOUR, know what
it is? How fatal is it? It’s treatment!
Irrfan Khan, born on 7 January, 1967 in a small town
of Tonk in Rajasthan, India debuted in
1988, has worked in over 100 Bollywood movies, out of which his prominent work
includes Paan Singh Tomar, Piku, Makbool and many more. He is known to be
India’s best international actor and has worked in various Hollywood and
British movies, of which the most famous ones are Life of Pi, The Amazing
Spider-Man, Slumdog Millionaire, Inferno and Jurassic Park. He has been awarded
with Padma Shri which is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of
India.
He has been diagnosed with Neuro-endocrine tumor recently; these are the group of cancer disease which arise from the abnormal growth of the hormonal cells. The cells which secrete hormones are termed as endocrine cells (hormones are the chemical messengers of the body). There are various types of neuroendocrine tumors like carcinoid tumors, thyroid cancer and islet cell tumours. They can grow in lungs or gastrointestinal tract, including pancreas, stomach, appendix, colon, intestine and rectum. Though they may be benign or malignant, but mostly all the neuroendocrine tumours are considered malignant or cancerous. It has been found that about 12,000 people in United States are diagnosed with NETs each year. According to a research conducted it has been observed a 5 fold increase in NET cases from 1973 to 2004.
Signs and symptoms of NETs will depend on
the location of the tumor. A NET in the digestive system may cause discomfort
or pain in the abdomen (the tummy area) time to time , vomiting and feeling of
nausea . On the other hand Net in lungs may cause shortness of breath, chest
infections and cough. Loss of weight and appetite are among the other symptoms.
Neuroendocrine Tumour
|
Symptoms
|
Carcinoid Syndrome
|
•
Diarrhoea
•
Flushing of skin
•
Wheezing (similar to asthma)
|
Insulinomas
|
•
Headaches
•
Confusion
•
Trembling and Palpitations
•
Weakness
•
Anxiety
|
Gastrinomas
|
•
Bleeding in stomach
•
Perforation on stomach wall
•
Diarrhoea
•
Stomach cramps
|
Glucagonomas
|
•
High blood sugar level
•
Weight loss
•
Anaemia
|
VIPomas
|
•
Low level of potassium
•
Diarrhoea
•
Weakness
•
Nausea
•
Vomiting
|
Somatostatinomas
|
•
Diarrhoea
•
Pale, greasy and offensive-
smelling stool
•
Anaemia
•
High blood sugar level
|
When
we go for the diagnostic part of the neuroendocrine tumors, since there are
many types of NETs, therefore each one requires a different approach for its
diagnosis. Its diagnosis basically depends on the location where it produces excess
hormones and the type of tumor formed .Doctors also do test to check if the
tumor is spreading to other part of the body by various imaging tests.
Diagnosis of NETs
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
After the diagnosis of the tumor is done,
for its treatment various methods of medications can be applied. The medication
to be applied depends on several factors such as – the type of NET, its stage, the possible side effects of the treatment and lastly the patient preference
and health.
Treatment of NETs
|
Surgery
|
Radiation Therapy
|
Chemotherapy
|
Targeted drug delivery using peptide
nanotubes
|
Interferon alpha (Intron A)
|
We,
the team of The Thinkers’ Club, wish Irrfan with all the best. May he
get well soon.
Written by:
Nitin Kumar Singh
No comments