A historical appreciation of bronchopulmonary neuroendocrine neoplasia: resolution of a carcinoid conundrum

Abstract

In the three-quarters of a century that have elapsed since the first description of a bronchial carcinoid, the field has progressed from serendipitous radiological or bronchoscopic diagnosis to computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and somatostatin receptor imaging identification. Similarly, pathologic techniques have advanced from a naïve assessment of neoplasia to a delineation of several tumor subtypes and an understanding of the neuroendocrine basis of the disease process. A key unresolved question is the identification of the genetic and environmental activators that are responsible for the initiation of pulmonary neuroendocrine cell proliferation and neoplastic transformation.

Keywords: APUD; Atypical carcinoid; Azzopardi; Bronchial adenoma; Bronchopulmonary carcinoid; Capella; Carcinoid; Chevalier Jackson.