Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2018. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Sep 7, 2018; 24(33): 3806-3812
Published online Sep 7, 2018. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v24.i33.3806
Neurofibromatosis type 1-associated multiple rectal neuroendocrine tumors: A case report and review of the literature
Rui Xie, Kuang-I Fu, Shao-Min Chen, Bi-Guang Tuo, Hui-Chao Wu
Rui Xie, Kuang-I Fu, Shao-Min Chen, Bi-Guang Tuo, Hui-Chao Wu, Department of Gastroenterology, Affiliated Hospital to Zunyi Medical College, Zunyi 563003, Guizhou Province, China
Kuang-I Fu, Department of Endoscopy, Kanma Memorial Hospital, Tokyo 3250046, Japan.
Author contributions: Tuo BG and Wu HC are the co-corresponding authors; Xie R and Chen SM managed patients and collected data; Xie R was in charge of pathological examination; Fu KI, Tuo BG and Wu HC were responsible for case design and writing.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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: Hui-Chao Wu, PhD, Full Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, Affiliated Hospital to Zunyi Medical College, Zunyi 563003, Guizhou Province, China. wuhui-chao_gzzy@aliyun.com
Telephone: +86-851-28609206 Fax: +86-851-28609205
Received: May 18, 2018
Peer-review started: May 18, 2018
First decision: June 6, 2018
Revised: June 11, 2018
Accepted: July 21, 2018
Article in press: July 21, 2018
Published online: September 7, 2018
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Case characteristics

A 39 year old woman was admitted to our department because of intermittent bloody stools. The diagnosis was confirmed to be neurofibromatosis type I(NF-1) with multiple rectal neuroendocrine neoplasms, vascular malformations and scoliosis.

Clinical diagnosis

A female woman had a primary symptom of intermittent hematochezia without vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, skin flushes, etc.

Differential diagnosis

There were three different diagnoses considered: hemorrhoids, rectal polyps and colorectal cancer.

Laboratory diagnosis

Blood examination showed the hemoglobin levels of the patient was 101 g/L, without other abnormalities such as liver and renal function, tumor markers, etc.

Imaging diagnosis

Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of the chest revealed enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes, dermatologic nodules with long T1 and T2 values, uniform density, clear boundaries and diameters of < 10 mm. A pelvic MRI detected segmental thickening of the right external iliac vein. The middle and lower rectal mucosae were irregularly thickened, with 26.5 mm at the widest point and an irregular signal with long T1 and slightly longer T2 values.

Pathological diagnosis

Pathohistological and immunohistochemical examinations showed that neuroendocrine tumor cells were present in the lesions and mutually linked to form cord, nest, or gland-like structures. The tumor cells were round, oval or columnar, of varying sizes, with round nuclei, and without obvious mitosis. Cells were CD117 (-), CD56 (+), CK (+), CgA (+), Syn (+), and TTF-1 (-), with a Ki-67 index of < 2%. The subdermal nerve fibers were in a disordered arrangement, and the cells were elongated, spindle-shaped and oddly distributed in the light-stained collagen matrix. Immune staining revealed CD34 (+) and S-100 (+) expression, deep and S-shaped nuclei, and scattered mast cells.

Treatment

Surgical intervention was advised, however the patient rejected surgery and favored surveillance by regular follow-ups every 3-6 mo.

Related reports

Neuroendocrine tumors are commonly found in the duodenum and pancreas, and rare cases of NF-1-associated multiple rectal neuroendocrine tumors have been reported. We have summarized the relevant literature in the past 20 years and found that only one case, combined with NF-1 in 14 cases, reports of rectal multiple neuroendocrine tumors. In addition, this is the first case where NF-1 is complicated by abdominal iliac vein malformation.

Term explanation

Rectal neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) are often derived from peptidergic neurons and neuroendocrine cells of the rectal mucosal epithelium, and are often divided into functional and non-functional types. Non-functional NENs have no specific clinical symptoms. Imaging, endoscopic ultrasound and biopsy are used as the main diagnostic methods for non-functional NENs.

Experiences and lessons

NF-1 diagnosis may be complicated by multiple system diseases. The clinical symptoms are complex, non-specific, and not easily identified. We need to develop individualized treatment based on the different symptoms of NF-1 patients. Although surgical and symptomatic treatments are currently preferred for multiple rectal neuroendocrine tumors, patients often require multi-system and multi-disciplinary comprehensive treatment.