Unifocal versus multiple ileal neuroendocrine tumors location: an embryological origin

Introduction: Small-intestinal neuroendocrine tumors (SI-NET) are situated preferentially within the ileum. The aim was to describe a potential difference in location between unifocal and multiple ileal-NET. Methods: Between December 2010 and December 2019, all consecutive patients who underwent resection in our European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society Center of Excellence, of at least one non-duodenal SI-NET, were retrospectively included. The main objective was to prove that multiple ileal-NET were mostly located on the left side of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) axis (defined as 40cm from the ileocecal valve), and unifocal ones on the right-side. Results: Ninety-four patients were included, six with unifocal jejunal-NET located 35cm (range, 10-60) from the duodenojejunal angle (DJA), 44 (47%) with unifocal ileal-NET, and 44 (47%) with multiple ileal-NET. The median number of tumors in multiple ileal-NET was 7 (range, 2-95), within a median small bowel segment of 105cm (10-240). The median length between the proximal tumor and the DJA was 428cm (300-635) and 540cm (350-725) for the distal one; 40 (91%) of them were located on the left side of the SMA axis. In contrast, unifocal ileal-NET were located at a median distance of 577cm (305-820) from the DJA (p
Source: Neuroendocrinology - Category: Endocrinology Source Type: research