Grade 3 Neuroendocrine Tumor (G3NET): An Unusual Tumor With A Histochemical Surprise

Sachi Singhal; Goonja Patel; Rohan B Singh; Rashmika Potdar

doi:10.7759/cureus.19103

Grade 3 Neuroendocrine Tumor (G3NET): An Unusual Tumor With A Histochemical Surprise

Cureus. 2021 Oct 28;13(10):e19103. doi: 10.7759/cureus.19103. eCollection 2021 Oct.

Authors

Sachi Singhal¹, Goonja Patel^{2

1}, Rohan B Singh³, Rashmika Potdar⁴

Affiliations

¹ Internal Medicine, Crozer-Chester Medical Center, Upland, USA.
² School of Medicine, St. George's Univeristy, St. George, GRD.
³ Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, USA.
⁴ Hematology and Medical Oncology, Alliance Cancer Specialists, Ridley Park, USA.

Abstract

Given the rare occurrence and the indolent course of Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), few epidemiological studies exist on these cancers. A small but interesting subset of these tumors are G3- Neuroendocrine Tumors. Grade 3 Neuroendocrine tumors (or G3-NETs) are unique in their intermediate prognosis. These grade discordant tumors lie in between high-grade poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas and grade 2 well-differentiated NETs, which have a worse and better prognosis than this rare entity, respectively. In this case report, we present a case of Grade 3 NET with an unusually high Ki67 index, diagnosed upon biopsy of metastasis visualized on imaging. Additionally, we review existing literature for characteristics, immunohistochemical markers, prognosis, and treatment modalities for the same.

Keywords: chemotherapy; g3net; ki67; neuroendocrine neoplasms; oncology.

Publication types

Case Reports