Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0016382 (flushing)
 6,387 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We have attempted to characterize a group of bronchopulmonary neoplasms that share certain structural features with true carcinoids but appear distinctly more pleomorphic and behave far more aggressively. In reviewing our files from 1973 to 1982, 11 such neoplasms were identified; the original diagnoses were "atypical bronchial carcinoid" (3 cases), "malignant carcinoid" (1 case), "bronchial carcinoid" (3 cases), "peripheral carcinoid" (2 cases), and "peripheral oat cell carcinoma" (2 cases). Of the 11 neoplasms, 5 were central and 6 were peripherally located. At presentation, 7 patients had lymph node metastases and 1 had a distant metastasis. No patient had a conventionally defined hormonal syndrome; however, 2 patients had a history of episodic flushing, one of which was associated with diarrhea. All cases were studied by light microscopy and light microscopic immunohistochemistry for NSE (neuron-specific enolase), serotonin, and broad-spectrum neuropeptides. Five cases were studied by electron microscopy. By light microscopy, the tumors were composed of solid clusters of polygonal to fusiform cells in an evident organoid arrangement. Foci of glandular and/or squamous differentiation were seen in 7 cases. Pleomorphism was moderate and mitoses were readily found. Focal necrosis was seen. By immunohistochemistry, 10 cases expressed NSE immunoreactivity. All cases demonstrated hormonal immunoreactivity; in 9 cases, immunoreactivity for more than one hormone was observed. The hormones most frequently expressed were serotonin, bombesin, gastrin, leu-enkephalin, and ACTH. By electron microscopy, all cases studied contained heterogeneous populations of neurosecretory granules; the latter, however, were not abundant and tended to aggregate either in the basal pole of the cells or, more frequently, interlacing "dendritelike" cytoplasmic processes. Aggregates of intermediate filaments were frequently seen. Basal lamina deposition was seen but gaps and larger areas of discontinuity were frequent. We believe that these neoplasms constitute a distinct pathologic entity for which the term "well-differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma" has been proposed. Clinically, these tumors merit special attention since they are demonstrably more aggressive than true carcinoids but are distinctly less malignant than the intermediate or small cell variants of neuroendocrine carcinoma.
 ...
PMID:Immunohistochemical and ultrastructural analysis of bronchopulmonary neuroendocrine neoplasms. II. Well-differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas. 608 31

Neuroendocrine carcinoma is a type of neuroendocrine system neoplasm that occurs in organisms in which amine precursor uptake and decarboxylation (APUD) cells are uncommon. In the human body, the most common sites of neuroendocrine carcinoma are the gastrointestinal tract and the lungs. From a histologic standpoint, these tumors are identified by their positive reaction to silver stains and specific markers for neuroendocrine tissues, such as chromogranin A, synaptophysin, and neuron-specific enolase. In addition to local symptoms, these tumors may cause flushing, wheezing, and episodic diarrhea secondary to the release of vasoactive substances. Our medline search encompassing the 20-year period prior to 2003 found few cases of this type of tumor in the paranasal sinuses and nasal cavities and only 1 case of an isolated neuroendocrine carcinoma in the nasopharynx. We describe another case of an isolated nasopharyngeal neuroendocrine carcinoma, which we observed in a 74-year-old woman. We review the clinical presentation and the surgical and systemic treatment.
 ...
PMID:Nasopharyngeal neuroendocrine carcinoma: a case report. 1910 29