INTRODUCTION: Neuroendocrine tumors are rare, with poor prognosis when not or poorly differentiated. EXEGESIS: The authors report the case of a patient who presented with a metastatic poorly differentiated neuroendocrine tumor that was resistant to chemotherapy. The different sites of the carcinoma were lung, pancreas, kidney and lymph nodes. The patient received no treatment and complete spontaneous remission appeared after 21 months. This remission has been lasting for five years. CONCLUSION: It is the first case of spontaneous remission of a metastatic poorly differentiated neuroendocrine tumor. The evolution and classical sites of neuroendocrine tumors are reviewed. Renal metastasis is also unusual. This report illustrates the fact that neuroendocrine tumors are heterogeneous.
INTRODUCTION:Neuroendocrine tumors are rare, with poor prognosis when not or poorly differentiated. EXEGESIS: The authors report the case of a patient who presented with a metastatic poorly differentiated neuroendocrine tumor that was resistant to chemotherapy. The different sites of the carcinoma were lung, pancreas, kidney and lymph nodes. The patient received no treatment and complete spontaneous remission appeared after 21 months. This remission has been lasting for five years. CONCLUSION: It is the first case of spontaneous remission of a metastatic poorly differentiated neuroendocrine tumor. The evolution and classical sites of neuroendocrine tumors are reviewed. Renal metastasis is also unusual. This report illustrates the fact that neuroendocrine tumors are heterogeneous.
Authors: Allison B Weisbrod; Mio Kitano; Francine Thomas; David Williams; Neelam Gulati; Krisana Gesuwan; Yixun Liu; David Venzon; Ismail Turkbey; Peter Choyke; Jack Yao; Steven K Libutti; Naris Nilubol; William M Linehan; Electron Kebebew Journal: J Am Coll Surg Date: 2013-11-12 Impact factor: 6.113