Cardiothoracic manifestations of neuroendocrine tumours

Br J Radiol. 2016;89(1060):20150787. doi: 10.1259/bjr.20150787. Epub 2016 Jan 19.

Abstract

Cardiothoracic neuroendocrine tumour (NET) manifestations encompass a vast disease spectrum. Pulmonary neuroendocrine tumours represent a range of tumour grade and differentiation characteristics from pre-malignant diffuse neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia, well-differentiated, low-grade carcinoid tumours with excellent outcomes, through to high-grade small-cell lung carcinoma and large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma with poor prognoses. Rarer thymic NETs represent a similarly wide neoplastic spectrum. Cardiac carcinoid is a paraneoplastic manifestation of the carcinoid syndrome and often the cause of mortality in NETs with hepatic metastases. Cardiothoracic NET manifestations are reviewed herein from a radiologists' perspective, discussing the diverse clinical presentations, spectrum of neoplastic and paraneoplastic manifestations, imaging features and treatment options.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Carcinoid Heart Disease / diagnosis*
  • Carcinoid Heart Disease / therapy
  • Carcinoma, Large Cell / diagnosis
  • Carcinoma, Large Cell / therapy
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Lung Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Lung Neoplasms / therapy
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neuroendocrine Tumors / diagnosis*
  • Neuroendocrine Tumors / therapy
  • Prognosis
  • Small Cell Lung Carcinoma / diagnosis
  • Small Cell Lung Carcinoma / therapy
  • Thymus Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Thymus Neoplasms / therapy
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed / methods