New study links pulmonary carcinoid aggressiveness to TERT gene activation

Pulmonary carcinoids are rare tumors of the lung with extremely different clinical courses. In many patients, they behave like benign tumors; surgical removal of the tumor leads to a complete cure. However, some patients experience aggressive growth and spread (metastasis) of the tumor with poor chances of recovery. The biological causes of these different forms of the disease are still unknown.