Background: Gastric neuroendocrine tumors (NET) are rare and are classified into 3 types: type 1 and 2 (characterized by hypergastrinemia), and type 3 (characterized by normal gastrin). Surgery is the standard procedure, and systemic treatment is reserved for unresectable disease. Currently, targeted therapies are being evaluated in NET. The activity of everolimus, an mTOR inhibitor, has been shown in pancreatic NET but not reported in type 3 gastric carcinoid tumors.
Case report: Here we report a case of a patient who, after multiple lines of systemic therapy, had a prolonged disease control of nearly 1 year, significant clinical benefit, and minor tumor shrinkage with oral everolimus 10 mg continuously.
Conclusion: There is no effective treatment for type 3 gastric carcinoid tumors. The frequency of mTOR expression in these tumors is not known, but the case reported here suggests that inhibition of this pathway may play an important role.
© 2013 S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg.