Primary neuroendocrine neoplasm of the esophagus - Report of 14 cases from a single institute and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Most prevalent esophageal neoplasm is squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. Other tumors are uncommon and poorly studied. Primary neuroendocrine esophageal neoplasm is a rare carcinoma and most of its therapy management is based on lung neuroendocrine studies. Neuroendocrine tumors can be clustered in the following subtypes: high grade (small cell carcinoma or large cell carcinoma) and low grade (carcinoids). OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to assess clinical and pathological neuroendocrine esophageal tumors in a single oncologic center. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of patients and review of the literatures was performed. RESULTS: Fourteen patients were identified as neuroendocrine tumors, 11 male and 3 female patients. Mean age was 67.3 years old. Ten patients were classified as small cell, 3 as large cell and 1 as carcinoid. Four patients presented squamous cell carcinoma simultaneously and 1 also presented adenocarcinoma. Main sites of metastasis were liver, peritoneum, lung and bones. Most patients died before 2 years of follow-up. Patient with longer survival died at 35 months after diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Neuroendocrine esophageal tumors are rare; affect mainly men in their sixties or seventies. High grade tumors can be mixed to other subtypes neoplasms, such as adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Most of these patients have poor overall survival rates.