Neuroendocrine Tumors (NET) and Nuclear Medicine

The term NET groups together different types of cancer that develop in various regions of the human body. They are born, in fact, by cells with characteristics partly similar to nerve cells ("neuro") partly similar to the endocrine ones, scattered almost everywhere in the human organism. So, some NET develop in endocrine glands (such as adrenals, pituitary gland and pancreas), while others affect other organs, such as bowel and lungs. The most frequent forms are born in the digestive tract that is the so-called GEP (gastro-entero-pancreatic) 2 . In the majority of cases, these tumors evolve slowly, but a minority of NET is very aggressive, as in the case of pheochromocytoma, paraganglioma or medullary thyroid cancer 3 .