Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Feb 15, 2016; 8(2): 231-234
Published online Feb 15, 2016. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v8.i2.231
Rectal neuroendocrine tumor with uncommon metastatic spread: A case report and review of literature
Nikolaos Tsoukalas, Michail Galanopoulos, Maria Tolia, Maria Kiakou, Georgios Nakos, Aristoula Papakostidi, Georgios Koumakis
Nikolaos Tsoukalas, Maria Kiakou, Department of Medical Oncology, 401 General Military Hospital, 11525 Athens, Greece
Nikolaos Tsoukalas, Maria Tolia, Aristoula Papakostidi, Georgios Koumakis, Second Department of Medical Oncology, “Agios Savvas” Anticancer Hospital, 11522 Athens, Greece
Michail Galanopoulos, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Athens "Evaggelismos", 10676 Athens, Greece
Georgios Nakos, Department of Pathology, 401 General Military Hospital, 11525 Athens, Greece
Author contributions: Tsoukalas N and Galanopoulos M contributed equally to this work; all authors contributed to this work.
Institutional review board statement: The patient involved in this study passed away prior to the time of preparation of the manuscript. Data presented are anonymized and there is negligible risk of subject identification of any harm to the patient or his family.
Informed consent statement: The patient involved in this study passed away prior to the time of preparation of the manuscript. Data presented are anonymized and there is negligible risk of subject identification of any harm to the patient or his family.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Nikolaos Tsoukalas, MD, MSc, PhD, Medical Oncologist, MSc in Bioinformatics, Consultant in Department of Medical Oncology, 401 General Military Hospital, Kanellopoyloy 6, 11525 Athens, Greece. tsoukn@yahoo.gr
Telephone: +30-697-7366056
Received: July 5, 2015
Peer-review started: July 10, 2015
First decision: September 30, 2015
Revised: November 18, 2015
Accepted: December 7, 2015
Article in press: December 8, 2015
Published online: February 15, 2016
Abstract

Neuroendocrine tumors of the gastrointestinal tract are rare neoplasms. Rectal neuroendocrine tumors consist approximately the 5%-14% of all neuroendocrine neoplasms in Europe. These tumors are diagnosed in relatively young patients, with a mean age at diagnosis of 56 years. Distant metastases from rectal neuroendocrine tumors are not very common. Herein we describe a case of a rectal neuroendocrine tumor which metastasized to the lung, mediastinum and orbit. This case underscores the importance of early identification and optimal management to improve patient’s prognosis. Therefore, the clinical significance of this case is the necessity of physicians’ awareness and education regarding neuroendocrine tumors’ diagnosis and management.

Keywords: Rectum, Uncommon metastatic spread, Neuroendocrine tumor, Rectal neuroendocrine tumor, Rectal neuroendocrine neoplasm

Core tip: Rectal neuroendocrine tumors consist approximately 5%-14% of all neuroendocrine neoplasms in Europe. Distant metastases from rectal neuroendocrine tumors are not very common. Herein we describe a case of a rectal neuroendocrine tumor with an uncommon natural history as well as a review of the literature. The present case underscores the importance of early identification and management of these tumors.