Clear cell carcinoid tumor of the gallbladder. A case without von Hippel-Lindau disease

Effective treatment of gallbladder neuroendocrine carcinoma with nivolumab

An 89-year-old patient with gallbladder neuroendocrine neoplasms (GB-NENs) and lung cancer metastasis underwent nivolumab monotherapy, resulting in tumor shrinkage. Surgery and adjuvant nivolumab showed efficiency despite low expression of PD-L1.

Clear cell neuroendocrine tumor in the gallbladder diagnosed as a benign polyp preoperatively: a case report

Background

Gallbladder neuroendocrine neoplasm is a rare disease that is divided into neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) and neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs). Clear cell NETs of the gallbladder are extremely rare. We report the case of a patient with polypoid clear cell NET G1 of the gallbladder who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Case presentation

A 10-mm pedunculated polyp in the gallbladder neck was detected on a follow-up abdominal ultrasound in a 60-year-old man with chronic hepatitis and hepatitis B without medication. Six months later, an abdominal ultrasound revealed that the tumor had enlarged to 12 mm in size. He was asymptomatic and had no abnormalities in other laboratory examinations, including the tumor markers, carcinoembryonic antigen and CA19-9. Abdominal ultrasound showed a 12-mm polyp in the neck of the gallbladder with perfusion and focal thickening of the gallbladder wall. A gallbladder stone was also seen in the fundus. An enhanced computed tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a polypoid lesion and gallbladder stone located at the neck of the gallbladder and the fundus, respectively. Malignancy could not be excluded, and hence, a laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed. Pathologically, a pedunculated polyp (14 × 11 × 15 mm) was observed in the neck of the gallbladder, and the polypoid lesion comprised nests or trabecular growths of clear NET cells in the lamina propria (ENETS: T1N0M0; AJCC: T1aN0M0). Immunohistochemical staining with synaptophysin, chromogranin A, and CD56 was confined to the tumor. The pathological diagnosis was clear cell NET G1 of the gallbladder. Although clear cell NET is often described as a distinct manifestation of von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL), the patient had no past medical or family history of VHL. Until his one-and-a-half-year follow-up, the patient was doing well and without any signs of recurrence.

Conclusion

We report an extremely rare case of gallbladder clear cell NET G1. When NET G1 is incidentally identified in a gallbladder surgical specimen, clinical information and pathological findings should be considered as references.

A 0.8-cm clear cell neuroendocrine tumor G1 of the gallbladder with lymph node metastasis: a case report

BACKGROUND

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) of the gallbladder are rare and generally considered low-grade malignancies. We herein describe a case of a patient with a 0.8-cm clear cell NET G1 of the gallbladder with nodal involvement.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 65-year-old man with no medical history indicative of von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy for cholecystolithiasis. There was a 0.8-cm tumor in the neck of the gallbladder. Histologic examination revealed nests or trabecular growth of clear cells with small round-to-oval nuclei. Immunohistochemically, tumor cells showed positivity for chromogranin A and synaptophysin; Ki-67 index was < 1.0%. Based on the World Health Organization 2010 classification, we made a diagnosis of clear cell variant of NET G1 without VHL disease. The tumor invaded the muscular layer and had no extension to the perimuscular connective tissue but had metastasized to a cystic duct node. A radical second resection with regional lymphadenectomy of the gallbladder was performed, and there was no metastasis on histology. After the definitive surgery, he was followed up for 10 months without adjuvant therapy and is alive and well with no evidence of recurrence.

CONCLUSIONS

Our experience suggests that, even when smaller than 1 cm, NET G1 of the gallbladder can metastasize. When NET G1 is incidentally identified in the gallbladder of a surgical specimen, detailed pathologic examination of the cystic duct node, when found, should be performed to guide whether a radical second resection with regional lymphadenectomy is appropriate.

Clear cell carcinoid of the appendix: Report of two cases with literature review

The clear cell/lipid-rich change has been described in neuroendocine tumors in several organs, but rarely observed in the appendix. In this study, we describe the morphologic, immunohistochemical features of incidentally discovered appendiceal carcinoids entirely represented by clear cells in a 22-year-old man and a 52-year-old woman. Ultrastructual examination demonstrated abundant lipid droplets and dense core granules. The mechanism leading to lipid accumulation in the cytoplasm has not been discovered, but degenerative processes following recurrent inflammatory change might be considered. This uncommon variant of appendiceal classic carcinoid tumors may bear a superficial resemblance to goblet carcinoid and/or appendiceal metastases from clear cell carcinoma. Awareness of clear cell carcinoid of the appendix will prevent incorrect diagnosis and unnecessary aggressive management.

Neuroendocrine tumor of the gallbladder

Background

The primary neuroendocrine tumors of the gallbladder are very rare, representing 0.2% of all neuroendocrine tumors. The definite diagnosis is incidental in most cases.

Case Report

A 60-year-old male patient presented with a one-month history of epigastric pain and jaundice, itching, flushing, cough and wheezing. Ultrasound demonstrated the gallbladder containing multiple stones, with wall thickening and an adjacent liver lesion. Additionally, those structures showed noticeable contrast enhancement in CT and MRI. Histopathological examination revealed a primary gallbladder neuroendocrine tumor.

Conclusions

Though a rare entity, primary neuroendocrine tumor should be considered in the differential diagnosis of gallbladder cancers.

Renal Cell Carcinoma Metastasis to the Gallbladder Detected by FDG-PET/CT

A 62-year-old male presented to the ER with three episodes of diffuse abdominal pain which occurred after eating. He had a history of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), prostate cancer and bladder cancer. FDG-PET/CT scan showed a hypermetabolic soft tissue density within the fundus of the gallbladder. The patient underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy and surgical pathology revealed clear cell type RCC. This is the first report that features PET/CT imaging to detect RCC metastasis to the gallbladder. Lesions within the gall bladder and their clinical manifestations can be non-specific and PET/CT can help characterize them. RCC metastasis to the gallbladder is very rare but it should be included in the differential diagnosis, especially in patients with a history of RCC.

Lipid-rich ("clear cell") neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas in MEN I patients

The presence of "clear" or lipid-rich cells within pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors is thought to be pathognomonic of von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease, especially in the context of multiple tumors. However, we encountered the presence of lipid-rich cells in six of 16 patients (eight microadenomas/adenomas) who had multiple endocrine neoplasia type I (MEN I). Three of the lesions (two microadenomas and one adenoma) were composed entirely of lipid-rich cells while the remaining five lesions had a component of lipid-rich cells. All lesions containing lipid-rich cells were negative for α-inhibin, but positive for chromogranin and synaptophysin. In addition, four of the eight lesions were glucagon positive. None of the patients had clinical symptoms related to hormone production. We suggest that lipid-rich cells are not reflexly indicative of VHL, and that they may be encountered in a proportion of cases of MEN I either focally or constituting the entire neuroendocrine lesion.

Clear cell neuroendocrine tumor G1 of the gallbladder without von Hippel-Lindau disease

Clear cell neuroendocrine tumor (NET) is a rare but distinct histopathological variant of NET most often observed in patients with von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL). Clear cell NET in non-VHL patients is extremely rare and this report is only the second to describe a case of clear cell NET G1 (carcinoid tumor) of the gallbladder without VHL. A 71-year-old male without past or family history of VHL presented with a polypoid lesion in the fundus of the gallbladder and laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed. Histopathological study revealed that the polypoid lesion was comprised of nests or trabecular growths of clear cells without atypia. Immunohistochemically, the neoplastic cells were diffusely positive for endocrine markers, but negative for α-inhibin. Clinicopathological review of cases with clear cell NET G1 of the gallbladder revealed that this disease occurs in patients with or without VHL, but that gallbladder stones and cholecystitis were present in non-VHL cases. We hypothesized that the occurrence of clear cell NET of the gallbladder (particularly non-VHL cases) may be associated with chronic cholecystitis induced by gallbladder stones. Moreover, α-inhibin was detected in clear cell NET tumor cells in one VHL case, but not in two non-VHL cases. These findings suggest that α-inhibin expression is a useful determinant of an association between clear cell NET and VHL.

Primary clear cell carcinoid tumors of the vulva

Neuroendocrine tumors are uncommon in the female genital tract and have been described in the ovary, uterus, cervix, and vagina. Primary carcinoid tumors have not been described in the vulva. We report 3 cases in 3 middle-aged women who presented with a solitary vulvar nodule without any other associated symptoms. All were treated with simple local excision. Two tumors were composed exclusively of clear cells arranged in nests separated by fibrovascular septae. The third tumor predominantly exhibited nests of eosinophilic granular cells with scattered areas of cells showing clear cytoplasm. Immunohistochemical staining for chromogranin and neuron-specific enolase confirmed neuroendocrine differentiation in all cases. Follow-up of 5.5 to 16 years showed no evidence of recurrence or metastasis. Primary clear cell carcinoid tumors of the vulva need to be considered in the differential diagnosis of vulvar masses with clear cell features. Immunohistochemistry plays an important role in the diagnosis of these lesions.

Neuroendocrine tumors of the gallbladder: a case report and review of the literature

INTRODUCTION

Primary gallbladder neuroendocrine tumors are extremely rare, representing 0.2% of all neuroendocrine tumors. The diagnosis is incidental in most cases.

CASE PRESENTATION

We describe the case of a 57-year-old Caucasian man who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy for the evaluation of a gallbladder polyp that had been incidentally detected by ultasonography. Histologically, his lesion was composed of monomorphic cells that contained small round nuclei and that were organized in small nodular, trabecular, and acinar structures. His cells were positive for chromogranin A and synaptophysin, and a diagnosis of "typical" carcinoid of the gallbladder was made. His post-operative computerized axial tomography, 111In-pentetreotide scintigraphy, and hormone-specific marker results were negative. He is disease-free 45 months after surgical treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Characteristic pathological findings of the gallbladder neuroendocrine tumors predict the prognosis. Whereas classical carcinoids of the gallbladder only rarely have a metastatic or invasive phenotype, the "atypical" variants are more aggressive and are associated with a poorer prognosis. Given the difficulty in distinguishing between benign and malignant lesions in the pre-surgical setting, we tend to consider each polypoid-like lesion of the gallbladder to be a high-risk lesion if it is larger than 1 cm and, as a result, to emphasize the need for cholecystectomy in all cases, relying on the pathological and immunohistochemistry analyses for the final diagnosis.

Clear cell carcinoid of the appendix: an uncommon variant of lipid-rich neuroendocrine tumor with a broad differential diagnosis

The designation of clear cell/lipid-rich refers to an unusual variant of neuroendocrine tumor ("carcinoid") described in several organs, but only recently observed in the appendix. In this study, we report the morphologic, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural features of an incidentally discovered appendiceal clear cell/lipid-rich carcinoid in a 32-year-old man without any evidence of von Hippel-Lindau disease. Differential diagnosis with mimicking neoplastic and non-tumor lesions, epidemiology, and clinical behavior of this exceedingly rare variant of carcinoid of the appendix are also discussed.

Neuroendocrine tumors of the gallbladder: an evaluation and reassessment of management strategy

BACKGROUND

Gallbladder neuroendocrine tumors (GB-NETs) represent only 0.5% of all NETs, and little is known about their biological behavior. We sought to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge about GB-NETs and provide a recommendation for management.

STUDY

A PubMed search was undertaken using the following criteria: primary gallbladder and carcinoid or NET. We also interrogated the SEER 9, 13 and 17 registries (1973 to 2005) and the Niigata registry (2003) to assess the epidemiology and clinicopathological characteristics. Finally, we compared the clinical presentation, management and prognosis of GB-NETs to that of gallbladder adenocarcinoma.

RESULTS

GB-NETs probably derive from either a multipotent stem cell or neuroendocrine cells in intestinal or gastric metaplasia of the gallbladder epithelium, which occurs consequent upon cholelithiasis/chronic inflammation. Clinically and at surgery, GB-NETs are indistinguishable from gallbladder cancer (GBC) and "carcinoid syndrome" is evident in only ∼1%.The median survival was only 9.8 months among 278 cases of GB-NETs reported in SEER. The 5 year survival rate for tumors classified as carcinoids/neuroendocrine carcinoma or small cell cancer (SCC) was 36.9 and 0%, respectively. Soga divided GB-NETs into typical and variant carcinoids with 5 year survival rates of 60.4% and 21.3% respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

GB-NETs have an aggressive behavior, and once diagnosed, extensive surgical management and careful NET follow up with CT scan is mandatory to facilitate early detection of recurrence. Since more aggressive surgical management for GBC has shown increased survival rates for these tumors, a similar strategy seems reasonable for GB-NETs. However, in high grade metastatic tumors, the primary management is mainly medical.

Clear cell carcinoma of the ovary mimicking struma ovarii and carcinoid tumor

Clear cell carcinomas are considered as high-grade tumor often with poor prognosis. We describe 2 cases of clear cell carcinomas of the ovary mimicking benign or less aggressive tumors encountered in the female genital track. The first case is mimicking a benign monodermal teratoma, the so-called struma ovarii, and the second mimicking a carcinoid tumor.

Intraluminal polypoid metastasis of renal cell carcinoma in gallbladder mimicking gallbladder polyp

CONTEXT

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in gallbladder is rare with only 18 cases published in the English literature.

OBJECTIVES

To review the clinicopathologic characteristics of metastatic RCC in gallbladder and to correlate the findings with clinical outcomes.

DESIGN

We report 4 additional cases of intraluminal polypoid metastasis of RCC in gallbladder and reviewed all reported cases, to our knowledge, of metastatic RCC in gallbladder in the English literature.

RESULTS

Most of the patients (19 of 22; 86%) were men. The ages at presentation ranged from 39 to 84 years with a median age of 61.5 years. All cases showed an intraluminal polypoid/pedunculated mucosal mass mimicking a gallbladder polyp. Histologically, all cases were clear cell RCC with most of the tumors either confined to gallbladder mucosa (67%) or involved both mucosa and muscular layer (27%). The longest interval between nephrectomy and the development of gallbladder metastasis was 27 years.

CONCLUSIONS

Metastatic clear cell RCC should be considered in the differential diagnosis of polypoid lesion of the gallbladder with clear cell morphology. Solitary metastasis of RCC in gallbladder correlated with better survival, and simple cholecystectomy for solitary metastatic RCC may provide patients with favorable long-term survival.

Lipid-rich variant of appendiceal well-differentiated endocrine tumor (carcinoid)

Well-differentiated endocrine tumors (WDETs) of the appendix show characteristic morphologic features, including proliferation of cells with finely granulated eosinophilic cytoplasm. However, clear cell WDETs, which can present a diagnostic challenge, have been occasionally described, but it is unknown whether they represent a morphologic variant with distinct clinicopathologic features. Moreover, the clear cell appearance of the cytoplasm has never been explained. We studied 13 appendiceal WDETs composed of clear cells, which showed an immunophenotype identical to that of conventional appendiceal WDETs. Ultrastructural examination demonstrated abundant lipid accumulation. Patient survival was excellent and equal to that of conventional appendiceal WDETs. These neoplasms, which represent a lipid-rich variant of appendiceal WDETs, do not have different relevant clinical implications compared with conventional WDETs, but it is important to know of their existence for the differential diagnosis with more aggressive neoplasms, including goblet cell carcinoids and appendiceal metastases from clear cell carcinomas.

Lipid-rich and clear cell neuroendocrine tumors ("carcinoids") of the appendix: potential confusion with goblet cell carcinoid

The so-called clear cell change has been described in neuroendocrine tumors at several locations. Those associated with von Hippel Lindau disease are pathognomonically "clear" and the cytoplasmic appearance has been ascribed to intracytoplasmic lipid. However, lipid has not been demonstrated in all cases of clear cell carcinoid tumors. Such variants have not been described in carcinoid tumors of the appendix and cases with a prominent proportion of clear or more correctly, lipid-rich cytoplasm may bear a superficial resemblance to goblet cell carcinoid and/or signet ring adenocarcinoma. Seven cases, in 5 females and 2 males ranging in age from 22 to 65 years, were noted to have a population of lipid-rich and vacuolated clear cells accounting for 25% or more of the tumor population. The carcinoid tumors were incidental in all cases with 4 of patients presenting with appendicitis, 2 with concomitant mucinous cystadenocarcinomas of the appendix and 1 with an adenocarcinoma of the ascending colon. Morphologically, the tumors had a nested and trabecular pattern and were composed of an admixture of microvesicular and clear lipid-rich cells. There were no mitoses, areas of necrosis of lymphovascular invasion and all cases extended to the mesoappendix. All cases were positive for synaptophysin, chromogranin, and serotonin but negative for inhibin. Three cases were examined ultrastructurally, and showed the presence of intracytoplasmic lipid and neurosecretory granules. None of the patients have shown evidence of recurrent disease. The importance of recognizing this variant of carcinoid tumor in the appendix is to avoid confusion with goblet cell carcinoid tumors with or without a signet ring adenocarcinoma. The presence of multi-vacuolated, foamy and clear cells, some resembling signet ring or goblet cells, in otherwise classic carcinoid tumors is rare but should be considered in this context in the appendix.

Clear cell carcinoid tumor of the distal common bile duct

Background

Carcinoid tumors rarely arise in the extrahepatic bile duct and can be difficult to distinguish from carcinoma. There are no reports of clear cell carcinoid (CCC) tumors in the distal bile duct (DBD) to the best of our knowledge. Herein, we report a CCC tumor in the DBD and review the literature concerning extrahepatic bile duct carcinoid tumors.

Case presentation

A 73-old man presented with fever and occult obstructive jaundice. Ultrasonography, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreaticography (MRCP) demonstrated a nodular tumor projection in the DBD without regional lymph node swelling. Under suspicion of carcinoma, we resected the head of the pancreas along with 2^nd portion duodenectomy and a lymph node dissection. The surgical specimen showed a golden yellow polypoid tumor in the DBD (0.8 × 0.6 × 0.5 cm in size). The lesion was composed of clear polygonal cells arranged in nests and a trabecular pattern. The tumor invaded through the wall into the fibromuscular layer. Immunohistochemical stains showed that neoplastic cells were positive for neuron-specific enolase (NSE), chromogranin A, synaptophysin, and pancreatic polypeptide and negative for inhibin, keratin, CD56, serotonin, gastrin and somatostatin. The postoperative course was uneventful and he is living well without relapse 12 months after surgery.

Conclusion

Given the preoperative difficulty in differentiating carcinoid from carcinoma, the pancreaticoduodenectomy is an appropriate treatment choice for carcinoid tumors located within the intra-pancreatic bile duct.