Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011;66(10):1671-5.
doi: 10.1590/s1807-59322011001000002.

Neuroendocrine tumors involving the gastroenteropancreatic tract: a clinicopathological evaluation of 773 cases

Bruna Estrozi  1 , Carlos E Bacchi
Affiliations

Neuroendocrine tumors involving the gastroenteropancreatic tract: a clinicopathological evaluation of 773 cases

Bruna Estrozi et al. Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2011.

Abstract

Objective: Description of some of the clinical pathological characteristics of neuroendocrine tumors of the gastroenteropancreatic tract in Brazilian patients.

Introduction: Neuroendocrine tumors arise in many organs and share common pathological features. In 2010, the World Health Organization published a new classification for neuroendocrine tumors using a three-tiered system that applies the terms neuroendocrine tumor Grade 1, neuroendocrine tumor Grade 2, and neuroendocrine carcinoma. The tumor grades are based on their mitotic rate and the Ki-67 index. In Brazil, information on neuroendocrine tumors of gastroenteropancreatic tract is scarce.

Methods: This study investigated clinicopathological features of 773 Brazilian gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumor cases from all the geographic regions of Brazil. All of the cases emerged from the files of a single institution (a large pathology reference laboratory) between 1997 and 2009. In addition, the gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors were graded according to the new 2010 World Health Organization classification.

Results: Overall there were a higher number of neuroendocrine tumors in female over male. The lower ages were seen in patients with appendiceal tumors. The most common anatomic location involved was stomach followed by small and large intestines. All cases involving the appendix were of grade 1 and 92.1% of the neuroendocrine tumors of the esophagus were neuroendocrine carcinomas (grade 3).

Conclusions: In this series, the proportion of NET cases in the total number of surgical pathology cases at our institution over the past 12 years is increasing.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A) A G1 neuroendocrine tumor (hematoxylin-eosin, X200). Note the uniformity and the characteristic organoid growth pattern. B) A G2 neuroendocrine tumor (hematoxylin-eosin, X200). Mild atypia and coarser chromatin are observed. C) A neuroendocrine carcinoma (hematoxylin-eosin, X200). Note the cellular atypia and frequent mitotic figures.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A) A low cell-proliferation index (Ki-67<2%) in a G1 neuroendocrine tumor (X400). B) An intermediate cell-proliferation index (Ki-67∼10%) in a G2 neuroendocrine tumor (X400). C) A high cell-proliferation index (Ki-67∼90%) in a G3 neuroendocrine carcinoma (X400).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Modlin IM, Oberg K, Jensen RT, de Herder WW, Thakker RV, Caplin M, et al. Gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours. Lancet Oncol. 2008;9:61–72. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Modlin IM, Lye KD, Kidd MA. 5-decade analysis of 13,715 carcinoid tumors. Cancer. 2003;97:934–59. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Yunes RN. Neuroendocrine tumors: a registry of 1,000 patients. Rev Assoc Med Bras. 2008;54:305–7. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bosman F, Carneiro F, Hruban R, Theise N, edWHO Classification of Tumours of the Digestive System 2010Lyon, France: IARC Press
    1. Modlin IM, Sandor A. An analysis of 8305 cases of carcinoid tumors. Cancer. 1997;79:813–29. - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms