Genetic analysis of an orbital metastasis from a primary hepatic neuroendocrine carcinoma

Abstract

AbstractPurpose To give an overview of neuroendocrine carcinoma metastases to the eye region.Methods Critical review of the present literature demonstrated by a patient case.Results A 71‐year‐old female with a known history of primary hepatic neuroendocrine carcinoma, presented with a visual defect, proptosis and restricted eye movements of the right eye. Biopsies from the orbit and from the primary hepatic neuroendocrine carcinoma showed similar morphological and immunohistochemical features and high‐resolution, array‐based comparative genomic hybridization demonstrated loss of one copy each of chromosomes 3 and 18, and gain of 1q both in the primary hepatic neuroendocrine carcinoma and in the orbital tumour. The orbital mass was diagnosed as a metastasis from the primary hepatic neuroendocrine carcinoma.Conclusion Primary hepatic neuroendocrine tumours are very rare, and the orbit is an extremely rare location for a neuroendocrine carcinoma metastasis. This is the first reported case of an orbital metastasis with origin from a primary hepatic neuroendocrine carcinoma.