Neuro-endocrine Tumours arise from the cells that produce hormones in the endocrine system. Channel 9 wondered how often these tumours can be misdiagnosed, following the death of Soul Queen Aretha Franklin.
As Dr Tamara Hunter explains in her interview on Channel 9, endocrine tumours may cause changes in hormone release, which then triggers symptoms that can be misdiagnosed.
Dr Hunter confirms that these tumours require multi-disciplinary intervention, and that the management can present with life-threatening situations. Survival rates depend on the stage of the diagnosis, and is measured around the number of patients alive after 5 years. With late stage disease the survival rates are as low as 1 percent.