Pancreatic metastasis resulting from thymic neuroendocrine carcinoma: A case report

Abstract

Abstract. Thymic neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) is a rare type of cancer. Unlike other thymic epithelial tumors and carcinoids originating in other locations, thymic NEC possesses a more aggressive biological behavior, including invasion to proximal structures, local recurrence and distant hematogenous metastasis. Distant metastasis is often observed in the bones, lungs, spleen, liver and adrenal glands. However, pancreatic metastasis resulting from thymic NEC is extremely uncommon, and only a few cases of patients with this disease have been reported. The current study presents the case of a patient with pancreatic metastasis resulting from thymic NEC. The patient was admitted to hospital with an anterior mediastinal neoplasm, which was identified using chest enhanced computed tomography. The patient underwent a monobloc excision of the tumor with resection of involved structures. Subsequently, a pathological diagnosis of atypical thymic carcinoid was provided, according to the morphological characteristics observed and the expression of neuroendocrine markers, as identified by immunohistochemistry. Following surgery, the patient received adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy. However, ~2 years after surgery, metastasis at the pancreatic head was identified. The patient underwent a total pancreatectomy and splenectomy, and did not receive any post-operative therapies; however, the patient succumbed to the disease 9 months following surgery. Overall, the results from the present study demonstrate the clinical features of thymic NEC, which may aid with the diagnosis of this rare disease in other patients.

LOXL1‑AS1 promotes thymoma and thymic carcinoma progression by regulating miR‑525‑5p‑HSPA9

“…However, due to the lack of specific symptoms in early TET, patients are mostly at an advanced stage at the time of presentation ( 6 ). Moreover, for patients with thymic carcinoma, there may be a possibility of high recurrence and metastasis after surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy ( 7 , 8 ). At present, the treatment plan for thymic carcinoma remains controversial.…”

A Case of Distal Pancreatectomy for Pancreatic Metastasis of Thymic Atypical Carcinoid

“…About 20%-30% of patients with thymic AC experience local recurrence or distant metastasis [9]. Pancreatic metastasis of thymic NEC, including AC, is extremely infrequent, and in the literature, to the best of our knowledge, only 3 cases have been previously reported [10,11,12].…”