Endocrine and Neuroendocrine Tumors

Background: Neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) consist of a heterogeneous group of neoplasms arising from avarietyof neuroendocrine cell types. According to criteria of the European legislation, some may be orphan indications. However, epidemiologic data on specific sub-types of NETs are scarce. This studyaimed at assessing the prevalence of gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) and lung NETs in the European Union. Methods: Systematic literature reviews were conducted using Medline and Embase bibliographical databases. Search strategies combined the following concepts, using MeSH and Emtree terms: Disease of interest, epidemiologic? data (incidence or prevalence) and countries of interest. The search period covered 1st Jan 2010 to 15 Feb 2016, inclusively. Pragmatic searches of web sources and conference proceedings were also conducted. Using data identified in the search, prevalence rates were estimated using the relationship between prevalence (P), incidence (I), and disease duration (D), where applicable. Size of the EU population as of 1 st January 2015 was used to estimate number of patients with GEPand lung NETs. As incidences rates and survival of patients varyacross countries and settings, sensitivityanalyses were also performed. Results: A total of 87 and 23 sources were identified through the literature search and pragmatic search, respectively for GEP-NETs and lung NETs. Following in-depth review, 8 and 6 data sources were retained forepidemiologic data extraction on GEP and lung NETs, respectively.Considering, the highest estimated prevalence rates of GEP-NETs and lung NETs (3.8 and 1.9