Gastrin-releasing-peptide in neuroendorine tumours

• In a substantial proportion of cases with endocrine malignant disease the primary lesion cannot be localised and the pathologist hesitates upon the origin of the tumour. Well differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas of the small bowel can usually be identified by the strong serotonin immunoreactivity, but foregut carcinoids may also stain positive for serotonin and the differential diagnosis between the various foregut tumours may be difficult. We examined if immunostaining for gastrin-releasing-peptide (GRP) may aid in establishing the origin of an unknown neuroendocrine tumour. Tumour tissue from 79 patients (27 lung carcinoids, 4 thymic carcinoids, 4 gastric neuroendocrine tumours, 17 pancreatic well differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas, 1 duodenal well differentiated neuroendocrine tumour and 26 well differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas of the small bowel) were immunostained with antibodies against GRP and serotonin. Positive staining for GRP was found in 12/27 lung carcinoids. All other tumour types were consistently GRP-negative (p?

Keyword

Diagnosis; Differential

Female

Gastrins/*biosynthesis

Gastrointestinal Neoplasms/*secondary

Humans

Immunohistochemistry

Lung Neoplasms/*secondary

Middle Aged

Neoplasms; Unknown Primary/*diagnosis/metabolism

Neuroendocrine Tumors/metabolism/*pathology

Peptides/*metabolism

Prospective Studies

Thymus Neoplasms/*secondary

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)