Would you pursue a colonoscopy for a patient in their 20s with constipation and rectal bleeding if they had a first-degree relative who died young from a "carcinoid tumor"?
How do you risk-stratify this otherwise low-risk young patient given the lack of specific guidelines for this rare cancer? Additionally, at what point would you consider a referral to genetics, especially in the absence of detailed family history or genetic testing information?
1 Answer
Mednet Member
Hospital Medicine · Temple University Hospital
Answered on
Carcinoid tumor is relatively uncommon in someone who is relatively healthy and young. I would make sure to consider all the more common diagnoses and workup before considering carcinoid tumor. Moreover, carcinoid tumor is associated with diarrhea rather than constipation. Neuroendocrine tumor of the colon is also a rare location. There are blood tests for serotonin metabolic products for carcinoid syndrome if the suspicion is high and the patient is symptomatic. But in this case, I feel like th...
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