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1-012 Screening and surveillance practices in carcinoid heart disease

heartjnl · 2025-08-13 · canonical JSON source

7 visible annotations · policy: published · automated confidence ≥ 75.00%

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Introduction Carcinoid heart disease (CHD) is a rare complication of neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) primarily causing right-sided valve disease, right ventricular (RV) dilatation and failure. The mainstay of treatment is valve replacement when patients are symptomatic with severe valvular disease and/or signs of RV dysfunction. Symptoms of CHD can be subtle or absent, even in progressive disease. Early detection and intervention are associated with better outcomes, therefore screening for CHD is an essential part of the management of NETs. A previous study in 2015, demonstrated variation in screening practices in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Since then, there has been the introduction of consensus guidelines and European recommendations on screening for CHD and surveillance in patients with NETs. We repeat the survey in order to evaluate and compare current practice to the previous study.Methods Thirty NET centres were invited to complete an online questionnaire gathering information on their patient population, and CHD screening and surveillance practices.Results Eighteen (60%) centres, with a NET patient population of over 4500 patients completed the online questionnaire. All centres screened for CHD, groups of patients screened included those with carcinoid syndrome (61%) and those with confirmed liver metastases (28%). The mode of screening comprised clinical examination, biomarker measurement and echocardiography.Clinical examination was carried out in 56% of centres compared to 68% in the past study. All centres used biomarkers, compared to 50% previously. Echocardiography was used in screening at varying periods, predominantly at baseline and repeated in the context of abnormal biomarkers (35%), compared to baseline in 21% in the previous study.The frequency of echocardiographic surveillance in confirmed CHD remains varied: six-monthly in 39%, annually in 17% and according to cardiology advice and individual patient circumstance in 44%; compared to a variety of timings in 2015, ranging from less than six-monthly to annually.Conclusion Screening for CHD in the UK has improved, especially utilising biomarkers. However, variation in screening practices and surveillance in established disease persists, which may contribute to late presentation and poorer outcomes in this cohort.