Open AccessA primitive neuroendocrine liver tumour?
Author(s) -
Monica Cevenini,
Elena Guidetti,
Eleonora Galassi,
M. Ferrata,
Paola Tomassetti,
Roberto Corinaldesi
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
clinical management issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2283-3137
pISSN - 1973-4832
DOI - 10.7175/cmi.v6i1s.491
Subject(s) - medicine , chromogranin a , synaptophysin , lesion , enolase , metastasis , neuroendocrine carcinoma , neuroendocrine tumour , neuroendocrine tumors , biopsy , pathology , carcinoma , immunohistochemistry , cancer
The aim of the present report is to present a possible primitive case of a neuroendocrine tumour (NET) of the liver. During a routine ultrasound examination, a 51-year-old woman was diagnosed with a lesion in the second segment of the liver, suggestive of a metastasis. A well differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma (G2, Ki67 = 4.4%) was identified by liver biopsy, positive for chromogranin, synaptophysin and neuron specific enolase. An additional extensive examination aimed at finding the primitive lesion was unsuccessful and PET with 68Gallium revealed a single liver lesion. A left lobectomy was performed, but 15 months later a second liver lesion with the same characteristics as the previous one was observed and was surgically treated, followed by therapy with octreotide LAR 30 mg. A four-year follow-up did not show evidence of a different primitive NET: therefore, while it is improbable that a metastatic G2 primitive tumour would not have presented in the 4-year period, a diagnosis of primitive NET of the liver was made. The paper gives the opportunity of describing an unusual case of a primitive liver neuroendocrine tumour and of presenting the successful treatment of both surgery and cytoreductive pharmacological therapy.