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Case Reports
. 2019 Aug 1;12(7):e229290.
doi: 10.1136/bcr-2019-229290.

Incidental finding of a small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the ureter

Obinna Obi-Njoku  1   2 , Chris Bell  1 , Prashant Ravindran Menon  1 , Iqbal Shergill  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Incidental finding of a small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the ureter

Obinna Obi-Njoku et al. BMJ Case Rep. .

Abstract

The ureter is an extremely rare site for small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma. We present a case of this disease in a patient who presented without urological symptoms. The multidisciplinary team proposed nephroureterectomy (if fit) or watchful waiting as management. After discussion with the patient a decision in favour of watchful waiting was made. We report her case including a review of the literature, and emphasise that although small cell neuroendocrine carcinomas can be very aggressive, they can remain asymptomatic.

Keywords: radiology; surgical oncology; ultrasonography; urological cancer; urology.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Ultrasound scan showing echogenic material within a dilated proximal right ureter. No Doppler flow demonstrated, possibly debris.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Ultrasound scan showing hydronephrosis of the right kidney.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Reformatted coronal enhanced CT showing full extent of hydronephrosis.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Reformatted coronal enhanced CT showing enhancing soft tissue within the right proximal ureter.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Axial enhanced CT showing enhancing soft tissue within the right proximal ureter.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Single image from retrograde contrast study of the right ureter showing no contrast in the upper ureter due to obstruction.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Typical morphology of a small cell neuroendocrine tumour: small cells with characteristic chromatin pattern, little cytoplasm and the nuclei look moulded together (H&E, ×400).
Figure 8
Figure 8
Synaptophysin immunohistochemistry positivity within the tumour (×400).
Figure 9
Figure 9
Characteristic dot-like cytokeratin positivity for pancytokeratin AE1/3 (×400).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

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