CEA producing primary hepatic carcinoid.
Imaging studies of a hepatic tumor in a 53-year-old woman with elevated serum levels of neuron-specific enolase (NSE), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5HIAA) revealed a hypervascular tumor in the right lobe. Grossly, the brownish tumor was measured 13.5x12 cm with four daughter nodules. Microscopically, the majority of these columnar and round tumor cells had ribbon-or rosette-like patterns with the expression of neuroendocrine marker proteins, such as Grimelius, NSE, chromogranin A, and synaptophysin, and moderate expression of CEA but without the expression of cytokeratin nos 7,8,14,18,19 and OV-6; the minority had glandular patterns with a strong expression of CEA but without the expression of cytokeratin nos 7,8,14,18,19 and OV-6. Ultrastructurally, most tumor cells contained populations of electron-dense core granules ranging between 100 and 200 nm in diameter. After hepatectomy, serum CEA, NSE, and 5HIAA reverted to normal ranges and persisted for 19 months. These findings suggested that the diagnosis of primary hepatic carcinoid was tenable and that the tumor might derive from hepatic stem cells which acquired the additional nature of producing CEA without cytokeratins characteristic of hepatocytes or bile duct cells. Some molecular based approaches have attributed unique biological behavior and histogenesis to this carcinoid tumor.
Kim
Soo Ryang
SR
Department of Gastroenterology, Kobe Asahi Hospital, 3-5-25 Bouoji-cho, Nagata-ku, 53-0801, Kobe, Japan
Imoto
Susumu
S
Maekawa
Yoko
Y
Matsuoka
Toshiyuki
T
Hayashi
Yoshitake
Y
Ando
Kenji
K
Mita
Keiji
K
Shintani
Shigeyuki
S
Kim
Haeng Boo
HB
Ku
Kwansong
K
Koterazawa
Toshihiro
T
Fukuda
Katsumi
K
Yano
Yoshihiko
Y
Nakaji
Miyuki
M
Ikawa
Hirotsugu
H
Ninomiya
Toshiaki
T
Kudo
Masatoshi
M
Kim
Ke Ih
KI
Hirai
Midori
M