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. 2025 Jul 27;16(1):1417.
doi: 10.1007/s12672-025-03097-8.

Metastatic neuroendocrine carcinoma in inguinal region complicated with membranous nephropathy: a case report

Xinyun Qiang  1 , Jieyu Lu  1 , Mujie Ye  1 , Ruitong Xu  2 , Qiyun Tang  3
Affiliations

Metastatic neuroendocrine carcinoma in inguinal region complicated with membranous nephropathy: a case report

Xinyun Qiang et al. Discov Oncol. .

Abstract

Neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) are rare, malignant tumors characterized by variable incidence rates globally, with an overall trend of increasing frequency. The gastrointestinal tract and lungs are the most common primary sites for NENs. Between 11% and 22% of NENs present without an identifiable primary site, with the liver being the most frequent site for metastases. However, metastasis to the inguinal lymph nodes remains uncommon. Tumor-associated kidney disease can occur in association with both solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. Membranous nephropathy is the most prevalent pathological type of tumor-associated kidney disease in patients with solid tumors, and its occurrence in patients with neuroendocrine carcinoma is extremely rare. This article discusses the case of a 72-year-old male patient with metastatic neuroendocrine carcinoma of unknown primary origin, presenting with inguinal metastasis and membranous nephropathy. It details the patient's clinical presentation, diagnostic process, treatment plan, and prognosis, with the goal of increasing awareness and understanding of this rare condition and reviewing pertinent literature.

Keywords: Case report; Membranous nephropathy; Neuroendocrine neoplasms; Unknown primarytumor.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The research was ethically approved by the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. Prior to participation, participant was duly informed of her rights and responsibilities and provided explicit written consent. The study was conducted in. agreement with the guidelines governing research involving human participants, as outlined by the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. Consent for publication: The authors have obtained written consent to publish the images/details of the individual(s) included in this manuscript. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
a 2020-12-28 18 F-FDG-PET/CT, b 2021-01-04 68Ga-PET/CT
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
a HE-400, b Syn, c INSM1, d SSTR2, e Ki67, f CK-pan
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
a, b Light microscope: there is proliferation of glomerular mesangial cells and matrix, along with glomerular sclerosis. PASM stain reveals more eosinophilic deposits on the epithelial side of the glomeruli. c–g Immunofluorescence: IgG (++); C3 (++);C1q; IgG1 (+); IgG4 (++); granular deposits in the vascular loops, with a diffuse distribution. h Electron microscope: numerous electron-dense deposits are presennt on the epithelial side of the basement membrane, with spike formations around these deposits. There is extensive fusion of glomerular podocytes, estimated at 80%–90%
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
a 2023-01-26 18 F-FDG-PET/CT before treatment. b 2023-10-11 CT after treatment. c 2024-11-16 follow-up examination
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Dynamic changes in blood routine and renal function related tests. The blue ver- tical lines indicate the medication period. The four horizontal solid lines of a-d represent the grades of myelosuppression. a Hemoglobin, b white blood cell, c Platelet, d Neutrophils, e Glomerular filtration rate, f Urine protein quantitation, g albumin
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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