Esophageal Neuroendocrine Tumor: Case Report

Abstract

Introduction: Neuroendocrine tumors, also called neuroendocrine carcinomas, are those that form in any region of the neuroendocrine system. Although they are more common in the gastrointestinal tract (67.5%), their appearance in the esophagus is rare. Another important characteristic is its slow growth and low degree of aggressiveness. Case report: A46-year-old male patient, seeking care for progressive phagia for solidspathstenoses digestive endoscopy that showed the diagnosis of distal esophagus whose anatomoological and immunohistochemical was of a neuroendocrine esophageal tumor. Subjected to staging, there were numerous liver metastases and lymph node enlargement of the celiac trunk, and palliative treatment was chosen. The patient had an unfavorable evolution, progressing to jaundice, ascites, worsening of general condition, progressed to death in about 3 months after diagnosis. Discussion: The incidence and prevalence of neuroendocrine esophageal tumor has been increasing since 1970 due to the modernization of diagnostic techniques. Despite the increase in diagnostic capacity, this pathology remains rare, corresponding to 0.15% - 2.80% of esophageal carcinomas. The median survival time for patients with this neoplasm is 22.4 months, having a totally different evolution from other neuroendocrine tumors of the digestive tract..