Neuroendocrine cancers
Doctors usually work out the outlook for a certain disease by looking at large groups of people. But neuroendocrine cancer is less common than some other types of cancer, and there are many different types. So survival is harder to estimate than for other, more common cancers.
Some of the statistics have to be based on a small number of people. Remember, they can't tell you what will happen in your individual case.
Your specialist doctor can give you more information about your own prognosis.
The terms 1 year survival and 5 year survival don't mean that you will only live for 1 or 5 years.
The NHS, other health organisations, and researchers collect information. They record what happens to people with cancer in the years after their diagnosis. 5 years is a common time point to measure survival. But some people live much longer than this.
5 year survival is the number of people who have not died from their cancer within 5 years after diagnosis.
Prognosis means the likely outlook for your cancer. In other words, how likely it is that treatment can cure or control your cancer, and how long you might live after your diagnosis.
Your prognosis depends on many factors. These are called prognostic factors. Below are some prognostic factors for neuroendocrine cancer.
Some neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) have a very good outlook. But all NETs are able to spread, even if they are slow growing. And some NETs are fast growing and can also spread.
Neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs) grow quickly. They are more likely to spread to other parts of the body. Faster growing cancers, and cancers that have spread, can be more difficult to treat.
Doctors also group neuroendocrine cancers depending on the place they start growing. They call this your site. For example, a lung neuroendocrine cancer starts in the lung.
Your prognosis depends on the primary site of your neuroendocrine cancer.
The grade affects your prognosis. The grade refers to how fast the cancer cells are growing. The higher the grade, the faster the growth.
Generally, fast growing (high grade) cancers are more likely to come back after treatment than slow growing (low grade) cancers.
This refers to the size of the cancer, and whether it has spread. There are 4 stages of neuroendocrine cancer - stage 1 to stage 4.
The stage of the cancer affects your outlook. Cancers that are larger or that have spread are more difficult to treat than early, small cancers.
Read about the stages and grades of neuroendocrine cancer
Your prognosis is often better if you are younger and in good health. If you are very fit and healthy, you are likely to recover quicker from treatment.
There are no UK-wide statistics available for people with each type of neuroendocrine cancer. The following statistics come from a study in England. This looked at people diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer in England, between 2012 and 2018.
The statistics don’t take into account the age of the people with neuroendocrine cancer. Statistics that do take into account the age are not available.
Below we have a section of survival statistics for each primary site of neuroendocrine cancer. Each section includes statistics for:
neuroendocrine tumour (NET) and neuroendocrine cancer (NEC)
each of cancer - there are 4 stages (1 to 4)
Read more about your type and stage of neuroendocrine cancer
The following statistics are for survival for the different stages of lung neuroendocrine cancer. We have statistics for:
lung neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) - these include typical carcinoid (TC) and atypical carcinoid (AC)
lung neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs)
Read more about the types and stages of lung neuroendocrine cancer
The following statistics are for survival for each stage of stomach neuroendocrine cancer. Stage refers to the size of your cancer and whether it has spread. There are 4 stages.
This is different to the 3 types of stomach neuroendocrine tumour (NET). You can read about the different types of stomach NETs at the link below.
There are 3 types of stomach NETs. The prognosis for type 1 is usually excellent, type 2 is usually good, and type 3 is less good than 1 and 2.
Below we have statistics for:
all types of stomach neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) - this includes type 1, type 2 and type 3 stomach NETs
all stomach neuroendocrine carcinoma (NECs) - this includes large cell and small cell stomach NECs
Read about the different types and stages of stomach neuroendocrine cancer
The following statistics are for survival for each stage of small bowel neuroendocrine cancer. The small bowel is also called the small intestine. There are different parts of the small bowel. The following statistics are for neuroendocrine cancers that start in the:
jejunum
ileum
We have statistics for:
small bowel neuroendocrine tumours (NETs)
small bowel carcinomas (NECs)
Read about the different types and stages of small bowel neuroendocrine cancer
The following survival statistics are for each stage of large bowel neuroendocrine cancer. The large bowel is also called the colon or the large intestine.
We also have survival statistics for neuroendocrine cancers that start in the caecum. The caecum is part of the large bowel. It is the pouch that connects the large bowel to the small bowel.
We have statistics for:
large bowel neuroendocrine tumours (NETs)
large bowel carcinomas (NECs)
neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) of the caecum
neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs) of the caecum
We have a separate section below about survival for rectal neuroendocrine cancers. The rectum (back passage) is the last part of the large bowel.
Read about the different types and stages of large bowel neuroendocrine cancer
The following survival statistics are for each stage of rectal neuroendocrine cancer. The rectum (back passage) is the last part of the large bowel.
We also have separate survival statistics for neuroendocrine cancers that start in the large bowel. You can see these higher up the page.
We have statistics below for:
rectal neuroendocrine tumours (NETs)
rectal neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs)
Read about the different types and stages of rectal neuroendocrine cancer
The following statistics are for survival for the different stages of all types of pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer. We have statistics for:
all types of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) - this includes insulinoma, gastrinoma, VIPoma, glucagonoma, somatostatinoma and non functioning pancreatic NETs
pancreatic neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs)
Read about the different types and stages of pancreatic neuroendocrine cancers
The statistics below are for MCC diagnosed in England between 2014 and 2016. They are from the Get Data Out programme from the National Disease Registration Service (NDRS). More recent survival statistics are not available. Survival might be better now because of improvements in treatment.
MCC survival statistics from the Get Data Out programme are only for England. We don't have any UK-wide survival statistics for people with MCC in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
We have statistics for:
all stages of MCC together
the different stages of MCC
Read more about merkel cell carcinoma
You might have physical changes to your body because of your cancer or the treatment. These changes can be hard to cope with and can affect the way you feel about yourself. It can help to talk to friends and family. Or join a support group to meet people in a similar situation.
We have a discussion forum called Cancer Chat. It is a place for anyone affected by cancer. You can share experiences, stories and information with other people with cancer.
You might need practical advice about benefits or financial help. There is help and support available. There are also organisations to support and provide information to people affected by neuroendocrine cancer.
We have information about living and coping with a neuroendocrine cancer
Last reviewed: 18 Mar 2025
Next review due: 18 Mar 2028
A pathologist reports how abnormal the cancer cells look (differentiation) and how quickly they are growing (grading). Your stage is the size of the cancer and whether it has spread.
Neuroendocrine cancers are also called neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs). There are 2 key groups - neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) and neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs).
There are many different types of neuroendocrine cancer. They are usually named after the part of the body where they develop.
Treatment depends on the type of neuroendocrine cancer you have, where it is, its size and whether it has spread (the stage).
Neuroendocrine cancers develop in cells of the neuroendocrine system. They can develop in different parts of the body including the lungs, stomach, pancreas and bowel.
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