Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) originate from diffuse neuroendocrine cell system and can develop in many organs. Gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) NETs account for approximately 70%, followed by bronchopulmonary thymic NETs.[1] The World Health Organization (WHO) classification divides GEP into well-differentiated poorly differentiated carcinoma (NEC). Well-differentiated be grade 1 (G1; mitotic count...

Focal neuroendocrine differentiation can be found in diverse histological types of breast tumors. However, the term, neuroendocrine breast tumor, indicates the diffuse expression of neuroendocrine markers in more than 50% of the tumor cell population. The imaging features of neuroendocrine breast tumor have not been accurately described due to extreme rarity of this tumor type. We present a cas...

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) or primary cutaneous neuroendocrine carcinoma is a malignant tumor considered to demonstrate differentiation towards Merkel cells that are present at the base of the epidermis or around the apical end of some hair follicles and are thought to play a yet uncertain role in sensory transduction. Here we present the case of a 54- year old female with a basal cell carcino...

Treatment with Enzalutamide (ENZ) prolongs survival in patients with incurable castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). However, the rapid recurrence of ENZ resistant tumors and the increased incidence of lethal neuroendocrine cancers in CRPC patients underscore the need for understanding how aggressive cell types emerge in resistant disease in order to design more effective therapies. As a...

The term neuroendocrine has been used to define cells that secrete their products in a regulated manner, in response to a specific stimulus. The neuroendocrine system includes neurons and endocrine cells sharing a common phenotypic program characterized by the expression of markers such as neuropeptides, chromogranins, neuropeptide processing enzymes SPC2 and SPC3 (subtilase-like pro-protein co...

OBJECTIVE To clarify the significance of neuroendocrine differentiation in prostate cancer. METHODS We immunohistochemically examined 96 samples of prostatic cancers obtained from radical prostatectomies using a specific neuroendocrine marker and various neuropeptides, as well as markers for cell proliferation, angiogenesis and androgen-receptor expression. RESULTS We frequently found neuro...

BACKGROUND Neuroendocrine breast cancer is a rare entity that was defined in 2003 by the World Health Organization as a separate breast cancer subtype. The diagnosis of neuroendocrine breast cancer requires the presence of neuroendocrine features in at least 50% of malignant cells, the exclusion of non-mammary primary tumors, as well as the presence of an in situ component in breast histology. ...

Objective: To analyze and compare clinico-pathologic characteristics and survival between lung tumors with mixed histologic pattern and our population of resected lung tumors with single histology in the same period. Methods: From January 1993 to December 1999, 1158 patients received resection for lung tumors. Of these, 59 (5.1%) presented a mixed histologic pattern on the surgical specimen. Th...

Primary neuroendocrine carcinoma of the gallbladder is extremely rare because normal gallbladder mucosa does not contain neuroendocrine cells. Neuroendocrine cells can be detected at sites of intestinal metaplasia induced by chronic inflammation, which may be the initial step in the development of neuroendocrine tumor of the gallbladder. Anomalous union of the pancreaticobiliary duct (AUPBD) is...