New editions of the TNM staging system for colorectal cancer have been subject to extensive criticism. In the current study, we evaluate each edition of TNM and analyze stage migration caused by the different versions. Two independent test populations were used: participants derived from a randomized surgical trial from the ...

Telomerase activity provides telomere maintenance in chromosomes. It prevents cells from entering senescence. Telomerase activity is one of the crucial steps in various cancers. Wilms tumor (nephroblastoma) is one of the most common solid tumors of childhood. Hitherto, telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) catalytic subunit expression in Wilms tumor has not ...

Carcinoid tumors are slow growing and highly vascular neuroendocrine neoplasms that are increasing in incidence. Previously, we showed that carcinoid tumors express vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) in the epithelial compartment of carcinoid tumor sections; yet, its role is not completely understood. The purpose of our study was ...

PURPOSE: Tumor-specific replication-selective oncolytic virotherapy is a promising antitumor therapy for induction of cell death in tumor, but not of normal, cells. We previously developed an oncolytic adenovirus, OBP-301, that kills human epithelial malignant cells in a telomerase-dependent manner. Recent evidence suggests that non-epithelial malignant cells, which have low telomerase ...

BACKGROUND: Cancer progenitor cells (CPCs) have been postulated to promote treatment resistance and disease progression in prostate and other malignancies. We investigated whether the enzyme telomerase, which is active in cancer cells and in normal stem cells, plays an important role in CPC which can be exploited to neutralize these ...

The incidence of gastric neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) has increased exponentially based on widespread use of endoscopy and a greater pathological awareness of the condition. A key concern is the potential association with hypergastrinemia induced by proton pump inhibitor administration. Previous confusion regarding diagnosis and therapy has been diminished by a ...

Telomere length alterations are known to cause genomic instability and influence clinical course in several tumor types, but have been little investigated in neuroblastoma (NB), one of the most common childhood tumors. In the present study, telomere-dependent chromosomal instability and telomere length were determined in six NB cell lines and ...

Telomere length alterations are known to cause genomic instability and influence clinical course in several tumor types, but have been little investigated in neuroblastoma (NB), one of the most common childhood tumors. In the present study, telomere-dependent chromosomal instability and telomere length were determined in six NB cell lines and ...

A 64-year-old woman who had been diagnosed with carcinoid tumor of the large intestine over a decade earlier presented with an acute right periorbital inflammatory reaction. On examination, 2 disc-shaped, gelatinous masses were noted on the right upper and lower tarsal conjunctivae. Excisional biopsies of these masses revealed metastatic carcinoid ...

Cancer recurrence is one of the major setbacks in oncology. Maintaining telomeres is essential for sustaining the limitless replicative potential of such cancers. Because telomerase is thought to be active in all tumor cells and normal stem cells, telomerase inhibition may be nonspecific and have detrimental effects on tissue maintenance ...

Neuroendocrine tumors, particularly small intestinal tumors, also grouped as 'carcinoids', are defined by an increasing incidence and prevalence, a poor response to current therapies, and confusion regarding appropriate models for drug development. Despite these issues, approximately 350 studies were published in the last year. Two sources of confusion are clearly ...

Given the lack of population-based data in the literature, we sought to (1) identify predictors of appendiceal carcinoid tumor nodal metastasis to distinguish which patients would most likely benefit from hemicolectomy and (2) compare survival after hemicolectomy versus appendectomy alone. Using the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results Database (1988-2005), we ...

Recent data on the involvement of miRNA and circulating tumor-derived DNA in regulation of tumorigenesis showed a great prospect for these molecules as a novel class of therapeutic targets and gave a new start for the study of enzymes cleaving nucleic acids as potential antitumor and antimetastatic agents. In the ...

A recent body of evidence indicates an active role for stromal (mis)-regulation in the progression of neoplasias. Within this conceptual framework, genes belonging to the growing but still poorly characterized class of tumor antagonizing/malignancy suppressor genes (TAG/MSG) seem to play a crucial role in the regulation of the cross-talk between ...

RC-RNase exerts anti-cancer effects on many tumors. However, the mechanisms by which RC-RNase induces cytotoxicity in different tumor cells are unclear. Currently, estrogen receptor (ER)-positive and negative breast tumors are treated with RC-RNase. Our data demonstrate that RC-RNase induces cell death on ER-positive but not on ER-negative breast tumors. This ...

Human ribonuclease inhibitor (RI) is a cytoplasmic acidic protein. RI is constructed almost entirely of leucine-rich repeats, which might be involved in some unknown biological functions like other structurally similar proteins besides inhibiting RNase A and angiogenin activities. Our previous experiments demonstrated that up-regulating RI might effectively inhibit some tumor ...

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are rare malignancies that arise from endocrine cells located in various anatomic locations, with a dramatic increase in incidence during the last 30 years. Limited therapeutic options are currently available for patients with advanced well-differentiated NETs, including carcinoids and pancreatic NETs. Streptozotocin-based chemotherapy and somatostatin analogues are ...

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 ...

The tumor suppressor protein BRCA2 is a key component of the homologous recombination pathway of DNA repair, acting as the loader of RAD51 recombinase at sites of double-strand breaks. Here we show that BRCA2 associates with telomeres during the S and G2 phases of the cell cycle and facilitates the ...

BACKGROUND:: Carcinoids are neuroendocrine (NE) tumors with limited treatment options. Notch activation has been shown to suppress growth and hormone production in carcinoid cells. METHODS:: The purpose of this study was to provide a process for identifying Notch activating compounds via high-throughput screening (HTS) and to validate the effects of ...

c-Met is important in the pathogenesis, invasion, and spread of several forms of lung cancer, and multiple c-Met inhibitors are undergoing clinical trials. PAX5 has been shown to upregulate c-Met in small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC), and coinhibiting PAX5 and c-Met had a synergic effect in killing tumor cells. Paxillin ...

This short review deals with our investigations in neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) with antibodies against defined epitopes of chromogranins (Cgs) A and B and secretogranins (Sgs) II and III. The immunohistochemical expression of different epitopes of the granin family of proteins varies in NE cells in normal human endocrine and non-endocrine ...

Neuroendocrine tumors of the ampulla of Vater constitute a heterogeneous group of neoplasms clinically and morphologically. Because they are rare, little is known about their demographics and biologic behavior. To analyze the demographics and the 5- and 10-year relative survival rates of 139 patients with carcinoid tumors and high-grade neuroendocrine ...

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. A PubMed search was undertaken using the following criteria: primary gallbladder and ...

Carcinoid tumors of the appendix are rare in childhood and usually have a benign clinical course. Their incidence in appendectomy specimens ranges from 0.1% to 0.9%. The aim of the study was to report the frequency, clinical presentation, tumor characteristics, and outcome of children with appendiceal carcinoid treated in a ...

The 2004 World Health Organization (WHO) classification recognizes 4 major types of lung neuroendocrine tumors: typical carcinoid, atypical carcinoid, small cell lung cancer, and large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma. Markedly different prognostic implications and treatment paradigms for these tumors underscore the importance of accurate pathologic diagnosis. To detail the clinical and ...

The appendix gives rise to an array of epithelial neoplasms showing glandular or neuroendocrine differentiation, and some tumors with elements of both cell types. Although some appendiceal neoplasms resemble their counterparts in the small and large intestines (conventional adenocarcinoma and carcinoid tumor), the appendix also gives rise to relatively unique ...

Carcinoid metastases in the liver are typically solid, hypervascular lesions. We report 3 cases of cystic carcinoid tumors in the liver with radiographic findings. Two were metastatic from primary carcinoid tumors of the small intestine and one was not associated with any extra hepatic lesion at presentation or during 5 ...

Neuroendocrine carcinomas of the larynx include a range of rare tumors which have variable biologic behavior, affecting treatment and prognosis. Among these, typical carcinoid tumors are the least common type. Prognosis of typical carcinoid tumor is better than atypical carcinoid tumor and small cell carcinoma of the larynx. Conservation surgery ...

Angiogenesis inhibition has emerged as a potentially promising treatment strategy for neuroendocrine tumors. 2-Methoxyestradiol (2ME2; Panzem(®)) is a natural derivative of estradiol with demonstrated anti-angiogenic activity in animal models. We performed a prospective, phase II study of 2ME2, administered in combination with bevacizumab, in patients with advanced carcinoid tumors. Thirty-one ...

Sandostatin immediate release (IR) is frequently used to treat patients with carcinoid tumors. However, some patients are unable to tolerate the immediate side effects of sandostatin IR leading to discontinuation of the drug. There is no literature available to guide the management of patients' sensitivity/intolerance to sandostatin IR. We report ...

Pulmonary neuroendocrine (NE) tumors include a spectrum of tumors from the low-grade typical carcinoid (TC) and intermediate-grade atypical carcinoid (AC) to the high-grade large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) and small-cell carcinoma (SCLC). Nodular NE proliferations ≥0.5 cm are classified as carcinoid tumors and smaller ones are called tumorlets. When NE cell ...

Carcinoid tumors of common bile duct (CBD) are rare, with fewer than 60 cases reported worldwide. Typically, jaundice is the most common presenting symptom. Preoperative diagnosis is difficult because methods for obtaining adequate specimens for histologic analysis are limited. Surgery is the primary treatment for CBD carcinoids to have disease-free ...

Gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors (GI-NETs) are a genetically diverse group of malignancies that sometimes produce peptides causing characteristic hormonal syndromes. NETs can be clinically symptomatic (functioning) or silent (non-functioning); both types frequently synthesize more than one peptide, although often these are not associated with specific syndromes. Based on data from various ...

Carcinoid tumors are derived from neuroendocrine cells, and are most frequently found in the gastrointestinal tract and bronchopulmonary system. Cutaneous involvement of carcinoid tumors is relatively rare, with isolated case reports in the literature. We detail a patient with stage IV pulmonary atypical carcinoid tumor with skin metastasis. This case ...

Primary carcinoid tumor of the kidney is an extremely uncommon tumor. As a consequence, very little is known about its histogenesis, clinicopathologic features and prognosis. We herein describe a case of renal carcinoid with atypical features.

Primary neuroendocrine tumors of the liver are exceedingly rare and unlike metastatic neuroendocrine tumor rarely cause carcinoid syndrome. There are only about 60 such cases reported in the current literature. We present a case of a 57-year-old male with a primary hepatic neuroendocrine tumor which presented as cystic mass and ...

Carcinoid tumors are rare, indolent, neuroendocrine tumors that are most commonly found in the gastrointestinal tract and lungs. They occasionally develop in the head and neck, either as a primary tumor or, more commonly, as a metastasis. The most common sites of head and neck carcinoids are the larynx and ...

Bronchopulmonary typical carcinoid tumors are well known as low-grade malignant tumors with fairly benign behaviors; however, distant metastasis after complete resection and multiple carcinoid tumors in the resected lungs have been sporadically reported. Lesser resections are preferred including lung-sparing surgery, while the importance of major surgical resections is also emphasized. ...

Small cell carcinomas are among the most aggressive, poorly differentiated, and highly malignant of the neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). Of which, small cell gastric carcinoma is a rare small cell neuroendocrine tumor. The purpose of our study was to present this case and perform a comprehensive literature review. We review a ...

The epidemiology of gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors (GI-NETs) is poorly understood. Recent analyses have suggested changes in the incidence and distribution of such tumors, but have generally used data sets containing small patient numbers. We aimed to define trends in the epidemiology of GI-NETs in England over a 36-year period. We ...

Cecal NETs are very uncommon and can be easily misdiagnosed, resulting in advanced-stage disease at initial diagnosis. For that reason, a high level of vigilance and awareness of NETs in the differential diagnosis of lower abdominal pain is crucial even when the patient has no symptoms from hormone secretions.

We present the cytological features along with histologic and imaging findings of a melanocytic bronchopulmonary carcinoid tumor in a patient with multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 1 (MEN-1). Intraoperative touch preparations of the lung tumor showed single spindle cells and loosely cohesive aggregates of spindle cells with oval to elongated ...

carcinoid tumors (CTs) represent the commonest neuroendocrine tumors. Those in the gastrointestinal tract are diagnosed in surgical specimens, clinically, and using imaging techniques (endoscopy, echoendoscopy, CT, Octreoscan, etc.). The goal of this retrospective study was to review a personal series of gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors, and to compare it to those ...

Well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) of the jejunum, ileum, and appendix are also collectively known as midgut carcinoids. Similar to NETs in general, the diagnosed incidence of the midgut NETs is on the rise. Their presenting symptoms vary depending on stage and primary site. Local-regional NETs often present with vague and ...

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the frequency of carcinoid tumors of the extrahepatic biliary ducts (EHBDs) and the pathologic progression and the role of surgery in the management of this disease. We describe two cases of malignant carcinoids of the EHBDs, which presented as common bile duct ...

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) of the thorax, including bronchial and thymic neuroendocrine NETs, are often referred to as NETs of the foregut. The incidence and prevalence of NETs are increasing in the United States as demonstrated in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results from 1973 to 2004 (J Clin Oncol. 2008;26[18]:3063-3072). ...

Carcinoid tumors are the most common neoplasms of the appendix. Histologically they have been categorized as classical, tubular, or goblet cell types. Goblet cell carcinoid has been regarded as a distinctive tumor type, not related to classic carcinoids, and to our knowledge combinations of these 2 tumor types have not ...

Primary renal carcinoid tumors are extremely rare lesions of the kidney, with fewer than 60 cases reported previously. Here, we present the case of a 46-year-old man who had primary renal carcinoid tumor with multiple liver, para-aortic lymph node and bony metastases when he was diagnosed initially. In consideration of ...

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) of the distal colon and rectum are also known as hindgut carcinoids based on their common embryologic derivation. Their annual incidence in the United States is rising, primarily as a result of increased incidental detection. Symptoms of rectal NETs include hematochezia, pain, and change in bowel habits. ...