NCUK Virtual Patient Handbook

2. Remove as much as possible

Partial / Cyto-reductive / De-bulking Surgery: all of these terms refer to removing as much as is safe to do so. It is mainly, but not exclusively, might involve removing: • All or part of a primary tumour • All or part of any secondary tumours • All of the primary tumour and some of the secondary tumours • Whatever can safely be removed This type of surgery is usually undertaken to help improve your sympt other types of treatment, including somatostatin analogues, chemothe De-bulking a tumour can improve symptoms that have been caused b hormones into the blood. It can also improve the effectiveness of othe

3. Pre-Emptive / Bypass Surgery

To alleviate possible cause(s) of symptoms, when the cancer cannot be removed. Occasionally, neuroendocrine cancer develops too close to blood vessels / surrounding organs and can interfere with how these structures work – potentially leading to pain / other symptoms. Removing or bypassing these kinds of tumours can help to prevent blockages and other damage, reducing the chance of extra problems developing in the future. This is known as pre- emptive or bypass surgery.

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