Functioning ovarian carcinoids induce severe constipation.
Five patients with ovarian carcinoid who had severe constipation for a long period preoperatively showed marked reduction of this symptom postoperatively. Because this phenomenon was believed to be caused by some biologically active substance rather than a mechanical effect of the tumor, reactivity to 17 amine and peptide hormones was studied immunohistochemically in these patients. Numerous peptide YY (PYY)-positive cells were detected, with PYY-positive cells representing more than 50% of all carcinoid tumor cells in each patient. PYY, which has a pharmacologic inhibitory action on intestinal motility, was presumably the cause of the constipation in these patients.
Motoyama
T
T
Department of Pathology, Niigata University School of Medicine, Japan.
Katayama
Y
Y
Watanabe
H
H
Okazaki
E
E
Shibuya
H
H
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002276:Carcinoid Tumor / Q000150:complications* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D003248:Constipation / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005769:Gastrointestinal Motility; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008875:Middle Aged; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D010452:Peptide Biosynthesis; D019894:Peptide YY
D019894:Peptide YY