Editorial
Copyright ©2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Oncol. May 10, 2014; 5(2): 36-38
Published online May 10, 2014. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v5.i2.36
Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the ovary: A pathologic entity in search of clinical identity
Ioannis A Voutsadakis
Ioannis A Voutsadakis, Division of Medical Oncology, Sault Area Hospital, Sault Ste Marie, ON P6B 0A8, Canada
Author contributions: Voutsadakis IA contributed solely to this manuscript.
Correspondence to: Ioannis A Voutsadakis, MD, PhD, Division of Medical Oncology, Sault Area Hospital, 750 Great Northern Road, Sault Ste Marie, ON P6B 0A8, Canada. ivoutsadakis@yahoo.com
Telephone: +30-241-3502028 Fax: +30-241-3502027
Received: December 19, 2013
Revised: February 14, 2014
Accepted: April 16, 2014
Published online: May 10, 2014
Abstract

Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) of the ovary is a rare diagnosis and only a few dozen cases have been reported in the literature. It is characterized by large pleiomorphic cells with large round or oval nuclei, presence of mitoses and staining for neuroendocrine (NE) markers such as chromogranin A, synaptophysin, neuron specific enolase. This editorial gives a brief overview of this histologic type of ovarian carcinomas. LCNEC of the ovary is a pathologic entity that may not be diagnosed purely on clinical grounds due to the similarity of its clinical features with those of the more common epithelial ovarian cancers. Nevertheless the diagnosis is worth-making from a practical point of view in order to consider treatments tailored towards the NE component if it is dominant or it becomes dominant during the natural evolution of the disease. Establishment of an international tumor registry with an accompanying tumor tissue bank of ovarian LCNEC could be a means of obtaining further knowledge on clinical characteristics and advance research on this rare entity. This will further inform on treatment strategies and could identify future molecular treatment targets.

Keywords: Neuroendocrine, Large cell, Ovarian cancer, Markers, Diagnosis

Core tip: Large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas of diverse organs are rare. A brief overview of characteristics, diagnosis and treatment of this tumor type when occuring in the ovary is provided in this editorial.