Neuroendocrine tumor of the small intestine

Abstract

Intestinal carcinoid is a type of neuroendocrine neoplasia of the small intestine that rarely presents with clinical manifestations. In some cases, it has an aggressive and highly symptomatic behavior, so the clinical suspicion must be high to make an early diagnosis. Regardless of the conventional anatomopathological study, it must be confirmed through immunohistochemical markers where the determination of the cell proliferation index or Ki67 is indispensable to obtain the grade of the tumor according to the WHO classification. This study presents the case of a 57-year-old male patient with a chronic abdominal pain of 11 months of progress who never requested medical care. He was admitted to the Dr. Gustavo Aldereguía Lima General Teaching Hospital of Cienfuegos due to worsening of the abdominal pain accompanied by signs and symptoms suggestive of intestinal occlusion. The condition required exploratory laparotomy with resection of a segment of the small intestine due to a tumor which had an anatomopathologic and immunohistochemical report that corresponded with a carcinoid ileal tumor, under traditional terminology, with a Ki67 index of 15 %. According to the 2010 WHO classification corresponds to a well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumor Grade II. The patient was referred to the department of oncology. Nowadays he is asymptomatic, under treatment.

Keywords

• carcinoid tumor
• intestine, small
• gastrointestinal tract