Skip to main content

Key Statistics About Gastrointestinal Carcinoid Tumors

On this page

Although the exact number isn’t known, about 8,000 carcinoid tumors and cancers that start in the gastrointestinal tract (the stomach, intestine, appendix, colon, or rectum) are diagnosed each year in the United States. These tumors can also start in the lungs and the pancreas, and a small number develop in other organs.

The number of carcinoid tumors diagnosed has been increasing for many years. The reason for this is unknown. Some think it may be the result of more medical tests being done to look for something else and finding carcinoid tumors. Since many carcinoids never cause any symptoms, there are probably many people with carcinoid tumors that are never diagnosed. These tumors might only be seen during an autopsy when a person dies of something else, or when someone has surgery or imaging tests for an unrelated condition.

The most common locations of gastrointestinal (GI) carcinoid tumors are the small intestine and the rectum. Other common sites include , the colon (large intestine), the appendix, and the stomach.

The average age of people diagnosed with GI carcinoid tumors is early 60s . Carcinoid tumors are more common in African Americans than in White people, and are slightly more common in women than men .

The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team

Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as editors and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.

Hassan MM, Phan A, Li D, Dagohoy CG, Leary C, Yao JC. Risk factors associated with neuroendocrine tumors: A U.S.-based case-control study. Int J Cancer. 2008 Aug 15;123(4):867-73. doi: 10.1002/ijc.23529.

Mocellin S and Nitti D. Gastrointestinal carcinoid: epidemiological and survival evidence from a large population-based study (n = 25 531). Ann Oncol. 2013 Dec;24(12):3040-4. doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdt377.

National Cancer Institute Physician Data Query (PDQ). Gastrointestinal Carcinoid Tumors Treatment (PDQ®)–Health Professional Version. 2018. Accessed at

https://www.cancer.gov/types/gi-carcinoid-tumors/hp/gi-carcinoid-treatment-pdq#section/_21 on July 25, 2018.

Pandit S, Bhusal K. Carcinoid Syndrome. [Updated 2017 Oct 9]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2018 Jan-.  Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK448096/ Accessed July 24, 2018.

Last Revised: September 24, 2018

American Cancer Society Emails

Sign up to stay up-to-date with news, valuable information, and ways to get involved with the American Cancer Society.