Do we know what causes gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors?
Researchers have made great progress in understanding how certain changes in DNA can cause normal cells to become cancerous. DNA is the chemical in each cell that carries our genes — the instructions for how our cells function. We look like our parents because they are the source of our DNA. But DNA affects more than the way we look. Some genes have instructions for controlling when our cells grow and divide. Certain genes that make cells divide are called oncogenes. Others that slow down cell division or cause cells to die at the right time are called tumor suppressor genes. Cancers can be caused by DNA mutations (defects) that turn on oncogenes or turn off tumor suppressor genes. Mutations of 2 tumor suppressor genes are responsible for many inherited cases of neuroendocrine tumors and neuroendocrine cancers. Most inherited cases are due to changes in the MEN1 gene. A smaller number are caused by inherited changes in the NF1 gene. Most cases of neuroendocrine tumors and neuroendocri
