Evaluation of Pathologic Prognostic Factors in Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Small Intestine

The precise contributions of histopathologic features in the determination of stage and prognosis in small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are still under debate, particularly as they pertain to primary tumor size, mesenteric tumor deposits (TDs), and number of regional lymph nodes with metastatic disease. This single-institution series reviewed 162 patients with small bowel NETs (84 females, mean age: 60.3±12.0 y). All cases examined (100%) were immunoreactive for both chromogranin A and synaptophysin. Primary tumor size>1 cm (P=0.048; odds ratio [OR]=3.06, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01-9.24) and lymphovascular invasion (P=0.007; OR=4.85, 95% CI: 1.53-15.40) were associated with the presence of lymph node metastasis. Conversely, TDs (P=0.041; OR=2.73, 95% CI: 1.04-7.17) and higher pT stage (P=0.006; OR=4.33, 95% CI: 1.53-12.28) were associated with the presence of distant metastasis (pM). A cutoff of ≥7 positive lymph nodes was associated with pM (P=0.041), and a thusly defined modified pN stage (pNmod) significantly predicted pM (P=0.024), compared with the prototypical pN (cutoff of ≥12 positive lymph nodes), which did not. Over a median follow-up of 35.7 months, higher pNmod (P=0.014; OR=2.15, 95% CI: 1.16-3.96) and pM (P

Source: The American Journal of Surgical Pathology - March 25, 2022 Category: Pathology Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research