About this disease
What it is about
Appendiceal tumor is a very rare tumor disease, especially since many subtypes are known. The most common are neuroendocrine tumors of the appendix. These are often discovered as an incidental finding in a tissue sample taken during appendicitis. Somewhat more rarely, offshoots have already formed at the time of diagnosis, particularly in the liver. In addition, sometimes extremely aggressive tumors can develop in the appendix.
Symptoms and consequences
Due to the extremely heterogeneous nature of the tumor and its rare occurrence, the spectrum of symptoms is broad, ranging from little or no symptoms to more pronounced ones such as weight loss, fever, night sweats and fatigue.
What we do for you
Examination and diagnosis
Due to the rarity of the tumor disease, an appendiceal tumor is usually discovered either by chance during an appendectomy or only after several previous clarification steps. The decisive factor is the evaluation of the tissue sample. In the case of a cancer diagnosis, this is usually followed by imaging examinations such as a computer tomography (CT) or PET-CT (combination of positron emission tomography and CT in one device) and a blood sample.
Treatment
In the context of the interdisciplinary tumor case discussion, the so-called tumor board, an individual treatment concept is discussed together with specialists from oncology, surgery, radio-oncology, radiology, pathology and possibly other disciplines. The spectrum of treatment options ranges from surgery to chemotherapy.