Poorly differentiated carcinomas of the foregut (gastric, duodenal and pancreatic)

Nilsson, O. et al. (2006) Poorly differentiated carcinomas of the foregut (gastric, duodenal and pancreatic). Neuroendocrinology, 84(3), pp. 212-215. (doi: 10.1159/000098013)

Abstract

Poorly differentiated endocrine carcinomas (PDEC) of the gastrointestinal tract are rare tumors. A PDEC is defined as ‘a malignant epithelial tumor composed of highly atypical, small- to intermediate-sized tumor cells growing in the form of large, ill-defined aggregates, often with necrosis and prominent angioinvasion and/or perineural invasion’ [1]. In the older literature, these tumors have been variously described as high-grade neuroendocrine carcinomas, small-cell carcinomas, oat cell carcinomas, undifferentiated carcinomas or anaplastic carcinomas. When applying the WHO criteria for PDEC, care should be taken to separate PDEC from mixed exocrine-endocrine tumors and exocrine tumors containing only small numbers of endocrine cells. Separation of PDEC from mixed exocrine-endocrine tumors is not always clear in the older literature. Due to the rarity of gastrointestinal PDEC, comprehensive studies are still lacking on the epidemiology, clinical presentation, genetic alterations, histopathology, natural history and treatment of these tumors. Our knowledge of gastrointestinal PDEC is therefore limited and mainly based on a small series of patients and case reports.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: McNicol, Dr Anne-Marie
• Authors: Nilsson, O., Van Cutsem, E., Delle Fave, G., Yao, J.C., Pavel, M.E., McNicol, A.M., Garcia, M.I.S., Knapp, W.H., Kelestimur, F., Sauvanet, A., Pauwels, S., Kwekkeboom, D.J., and Caplin, M.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Cancer Sciences
• Journal Name: Neuroendocrinology
• ISSN: 1423–0194
• ISSN (Online): 0028–3835