Long-term survival after resection for primary hepatic carcinoid tumor.
BACKGROUND
Primary hepatic carcinoid tumors (PHCTs) are extremely rare, and fewer than 50 cases have been reported in the English-language literature. We report a patient with a PHCT and review the cases in the literature.


METHODS
Our patient presented with symptoms and underwent liver resection for PHCT and regional lymph node metastasis. He underwent two more liver resections over the following 7 years for recurrent PHCT. Cases reported in the English-language literature were reviewed and survival analysis was performed with the Kaplan-Meier method. The survival impacts of age, gender, tumor foci, extrahepatic metastasis, unilobar versus bilobar disease, and type of preoperative treatment were determined by means of log-rank test.


RESULTS
Our patient has been free of symptoms for 14 years of follow-up and free of disease for 8 years of follow-up. Forty-eight cases of PHCT were found in the literature, and 92% of these patients underwent resection. Actuarial 5- and 10-year survival for all patients was 78% and 59%, respectively, whereas for resected patients, 10-year survival was 68%. The administration of preoperative chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or chemoembolization did not impact survival, nor did age, gender, presence of extrahepatic metastasis, number of tumors, or distribution of the tumor within the liver.


CONCLUSIONS
Resection is the treatment of choice for PHCT and has provided favorable outcomes. Resection for PHCT can be performed in most patients and offers long-term survival.
Knox
Clayton D
CD
Departments of Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-4753, USA. clayton.d.knox@vanderbilt.edu
Anderson
Christopher D
CD
Lamps
Laura W
LW
Adkins
R Benton
RB
Pinson
C Wright
CW
D000328:Adult; D002276:Carcinoid Tumor / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D016019:Survival Analysis