Carcinoid tumor of the appendix: A case report

Abstract

Carcinoid tumors are the most common neoplasm of the appendix. The clinical presentation of these lesions is often similar to that of acute appendicitis, or the tumors are asymptomatic. The carcinoids are commonly found incidentally during histopathological examination of the resected appendix following appendectomy or other abdominal procedures. Appendiceal carcinoids usually behave as benign tumors and appendicectomy alone is a sufficient treatment in the majority of cases, while for larger lesions, right colectomy should be performed. The prognosis of patients with local appendiceal carcinoids is excellent. The present study reports the case of a 22-year-old female patient that presented with recurrent right lower abdominal pain of a three-year duration. The patient underwent successful appendectomy and recovered four days later. Subsequently, an appendiceal carcinoid tumor located at the tip of the appendix was diagnosed by histopathological examination. Follow-up examination one year after surgery revealed that the patient was well with no discomfort.

Keywords: appendix; carcinoid tumor.

Figure 1.

Computed tomography scan revealing the appendix, with the tumor being too small to identify, as indicated by the arrow.

Figure 2.

Photomicrograph of a hematoxylin and eosin-stained tissue section revealing the neuroendocrine tumor cells.