title: Approach to the diagnosis of neuroendocrine lung neoplasms: variabilities and pitfalls.
abstract: With the publication of the spectrum of neuroendocrine proliferations and neoplasms and the features and criteria for diagnosing neuroendocrine lung neoplasms, there is more agreement in making a specific pathologic diagnosis of a neuroendocrine lung neoplasm. However, problems exist, especially in diagnosing well-differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas (atypical carcinoids), large-cell neuroendocrine carcinomas, and even some small-cell lung cancers. Some of this disagreement has to do with a pathologist's perception of sizes and shapes of cells. Nonneuroendocrine small-cell carcinomas exist and include small-cell squamous cell carcinoma, small cell adenocarcinoma, and basaloid carcinoma. Nonneuroendocrine lung cancers, especially large-cell undifferentiated carcinoma and poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, not infrequently express neuroendocrine markers immunohistochemically.
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic Specialties Laboratory, Bremerton, Washington 98310, USA. shammar@harrisonmedical.org
authors.forename: Samuel P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Hammar
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D018358:Neuroendocrine Tumors / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology