Causes

Carcinoid syndrome is caused by a carcinoid tumor that secretes serotonin or other chemicals into your bloodstream. Carcinoid tumors occur most often in the gastrointestinal tract, including your stomach, small intestine, appendix, colon and rectum.

Only a small percentage of carcinoid tumors secrete the chemicals that cause carcinoid syndrome. When these tumors do secrete the chemicals, the liver normally neutralizes the chemicals before they have a chance to travel through your body and cause symptoms.

However, when an advanced tumor spreads (metastasizes) to the liver itself, it may secrete chemicals that aren't neutralized before reaching the bloodstream. Most people who experience carcinoid syndrome have an advanced cancer that has spread to the liver.

Some carcinoid tumors don't have to be advanced to cause carcinoid syndrome. For instance, carcinoid lung tumors that secrete chemicals into the blood do so farther upstream from the liver, which then cannot process and eliminate the chemicals.

Carcinoid tumors in the intestine, on the other hand, secrete the chemicals into blood that must first pass through the liver before reaching the rest of the body. The liver usually neutralizes the chemicals before they can affect the rest of the body.

What causes carcinoid tumors is unclear.