High-grade Non-small Cell Neuroendocrine Carcinoma of the Esophagus

• Published in: Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) Vol. 10; no. 4; p. e2416
• Main Authors: Hjerpe, Stephen J, Rahim, Umar, Usman, Muhammad Shariq, Ansari, Amna, Chowdhury, Waliul, Lodhi, Muhammad Uzair, Rahim, Mustafa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Cureus Inc 03-04-2018; Cureus
• Subjects: Abdomen; Alcohol; Case reports; Chemotherapy; Coronary vessels; Dysphagia; Esophageal cancer; Esophagus; Family medical history; Gastroenterology; Gastroesophageal reflux; Internal Medicine; Keratin; Literature reviews; Medical imaging; Medicine; Metastasis; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Oncology; Patients; Smoking; Substance abuse treatment; Tumors; Canada; West Virginia; Pakistan; United States > US; Karachi Pakistan; carboplatin; dysphagia; ki-67 index; lactate dehydrogenase; neuroendocrine carcinoma; esophagogastroduodenoscopy; cisplatin; positron emission tomography; somatostatin receptor imaging
• ISSN: 2168-8184; 2168-8184
• DOI: 10.7759/cureus.2416

High-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) of the esophagus is an extremely aggressive and rare disease, which is still not well understood. In this case report, we discuss a 73-year-old male patient that presented with the sole complaint of dysphagia to solid foods. During our evaluation of the patient, a six-centimeter esophageal mass was found on esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). A diagnosis of poorly differentiated (high-grade) non-small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma was made after a histological analysis and immunostaining. We attempted to highlight the diagnosis, evaluation process, and treatment options related to this entity. Our review of the literature revealed that further research is needed, focusing on neuroendocrine carcinomas of the esophagus and how this entity differs from some of the more well-known neuroendocrine neoplasms in terms of management.