Objective: To determine the population-based incidence, anatomic

distribution, and survival rates of gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors. Background: Carcinoid tumors arise from neuroendocrine cells and may develop in almost any organ. Many textbooks and articles represent single institution studies and report varying incidence rates, anatomic distribution of tumors, and patient survival rates. Population-based statistics remain largely unknown. Methods: Data was obtained from the National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program (1973 to 1997). Incidence rates, distribution, and 5-year survival rates were analyzed. Multivariate Cox regression was used to identify predic-tors of survival using age, race/ethnicity, gender, and tumor char-acteristics (size, lymph node status, and stage). Results: Of the 11,427 cases analyzed, the average age was 60.9 years, and 54.2 % were female. The overall incidence rates for carcinoid tumors have increased significantly over the past 25 years