Progress in the treatment of esophageal neuroendocrine carcinoma

Abstract

Esophageal neuroendocrine neoplasms are rare. With the improvement and popularization of diagnostic methods, the morbidity statistics have increased annually in recent years. There are currently no treatment guidelines for esophageal neuroendocrine neoplasms, and surgery is the only cure. This usually involves radical surgery when the tumor is limited to the primary site or when only regional lymph node metastasis occurs. Surgical treatment is key to treating esophageal neuroendocrine neoplasms, but combined treatment with chemotherapy and radiotherapy can significantly improve patient survival. The effect of radiotherapy alone on this disease is poor. However, targeted endocrine therapy can improve endocrine hormone symptoms. The prognosis of patients with esophageal neuroendocrine neoplasms is mainly determined by the pathological stage. With the development of molecular biology techniques, the combination of targeted drugs and traditional chemotherapy is expected to provide novel ideas and directions for the treatment of esophageal neuroendocrine neoplasms in the coming years. In this article, the status of esophageal neuroendocrine tumor treatments was reviewed in detail.

Esophageal Large-Cell Neuroendocrine Carcinoma with Inconsistent Response to Treatment in the Primary and Metastatic Lesions

“…However, with the similarity in the clinical course and histopathological features of NEC and SCLC, inoperable NEC is generally treated using the same chemotherapy regimen as for SCLC, regardless of whether it is of the small-cell or the large-cell type. Even in operable cases, adjuvant chemotherapy is part of the treatment, as it may provide a better prognosis than surgery alone [ 1 , 10 ]. CDDP is a critical cytotoxic agent and is usually combined with VP-16 or CPT-11 as the first line of treatment.…”

“…Esophageal neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) is a rare malignant neoplasm that is characterized by a high malignant potential, rapid growth, and a poor prognosis [ 1 ]. However, the rarity of NEC has impeded the development of a standard chemotherapy regimen.…”

Overexpression of Peroxiredoxin 6 (PRDX6) Promotes the Aggressive Phenotypes of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

“…The prognosis of this cancer remains poor because of late diagnosis and the rapid metastasis, despite the currently multiple methods of treatment for ESCC 4 . In addition to surgery, simultaneous radiotherapy and chemotherapy is the current standard treatment of non-surgical treatment of esophageal cancer 5 . Although a variety of dysregulated molecules and potential targets of ESCC have gradually been characterized, the molecular mechanism driving the progression of ESCC remains complex and largely unknown 6 , 7 .…”

Histopathological landscape of rare oesophageal neoplasms

“…Background: Neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) are a heterogeneous group of neoplasms originating from the diffuse neuroendocrine system. NENs are characterized by highly variable biological behaviour ranging from slow growing and low-grade malignant diseases to extremely aggressive diseases[ 64 , 65 ]. According to the 2019 WHO classification[ 8 ], the term “NEN” includes: (1) Well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumours (NETs); (2) Poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC); and (3) Mixed neuroendocrine-non-neuroendocrine neoplasm (MINEN), an umbrella category that includes mixed adenoneuroendocrine carcinoma.…”