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24 NEUROENDOCRINE NEOPLASMS OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM 477
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Figure 2 Different type of gastric NETs (asterisks) arising in the oxyntic mucosa. Since they show overlapping morphological features, the morphological aspect of the peritumoral mucosa is an important diagnostic criterion. In type 1 ECL-cell NETs the mucosa is atrophic showing intestinal and pseudopyloric metaplasia. In type 2 ECL-cell NETs the mucosa is hypertrophic-hypersecretory, while in Type 3 NETs the mucosa is normal. Peritumoral mucosa observed in Type 4 ECL-cell NETs shows dilated oxyntic glands containing inspissated secretory material with parietal cells presenting abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm. In Type 5 ECL-cell NETs peritumoral mucosa shows dilation of oxyntic glands in which parietal cells present apocrine-like swelling. (The figure regarding type 4 ECL-cell NET is reprinted with permission from the book chapter: La Rosa S, Uccella S, Rindi G. Neuroendocrine neoplasms of the gut. In: Asa SL, La Rosa S, Mete O. The spectrum of neuroendocrine neoplasia: a practical approach to diagnosis, classification, and therapy. Springer Cam, 2021).
epigenetic, and predisposing genetic factors are likely to be involved in the development of ECL-cell NETs.
Type 2 ECL-cell NETs are multiple and below <2 cm in size arising in a hypertrophic-hypersecretory oxyntic mucosa that shows linear and micronodular ECL-cell proliferations. Most cases are G1 NETs confined to mucosa-submucosa, but G2 cases infiltrating the gastric wall have been described.
Only MEN1-patients with (usually duodenal) gastrinomas develop ECL-cell NETs, while patients with sporadic gastrino­mas do not, which indicates that the MEN1 gene abnormalities are essential for type 2 ECL-cell tumorigenesis.
Type 3 NETs are solitary and generally large (>2 cm) tumors deeply infiltrating the gastric wall. They arise in a normal mucosa without ECL-cell hyperplasia. Most cases are G1 or G2, but G3 NETs have also been described (La Rosa et al. 2011; Vanoli etal. 2018). The pathogenesis of type 3 ECL-cell NETs is not well known, but loss of heterozygosity for MEN1 gene locus and/or MEN1 mutations have been identified in 25–50% of type 3 NETs (Bordi 2014). When distinguishing a G3 NET from a NEC, the absence of a p53 overexpression or total loss (corresponding to TP53 wild type status) and/or Rb1 loss is helpful (Kasajima etal. 2022).
Type 4 ECL-cell NETs are small and multiple tumors arising in a mucosa showing dilated oxyntic glands with parietal cells presenting vacuolated abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm with apical projections into the glandular lumens. The gland lumens contain inspissated secretory material (Abraham et al. 2005; Rindi etal. 1993). Molecular mechanisms involved in the path­ogenesis of type 4 ECL-cells NETs are not known so far.
Type 5 ECL-cell NETs present as solitary and small tumors usually confined to mucosa or submucosa. Most tumors are G1 or G2, but rare G3 NETs have been described. The peritumoral mucosa shows PPI effects including dilation of oxyntic glands in which parietal cells show apocrine-like swelling and cytoplasmic snouts. ECL-cell hyperplasia has been observed in about 30% of cases (Trinh etal. 2020). Molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of type 5 ECL-cells NETs are not known so far.
Gastric NECs and MiNENs
Gastric NECs and MiNENs can occur anywhere in the stomach and present as large, polypoid, ulcerating, or stenotic lesions resembling gastric adenocarcinoma. MiNENs are composed of two morphologically recognizable components, each represent­ing at least 30% of the tumor cell population, although this cut­off has been arbitrarily defined and is now matter of debate (La Rosa and Uccella 2021; Uccella and La Rosa 2020). The neuroen­docrine component is often a NEC and only rarely a NET (Klimstra etal. 2019). The non-neuroendocrine component is histologically and immunohistochemically that of a gastric ade­nocarcinoma (Rindi etal. 2022). Gastric NECs have a high muta­tional burden characterized by multiple alterations involving TP53, RB1, PIK3CA, KRAS, FHIT, DCC, and SMAD4 (Makuuchi et al. 2017). Available data on gastric MiNENs indicate the monoclonal origin of the two tumor components and molecular similarities with NECs (Scardoni etal. 2014; Volante etal. 2015).
Prognosis
The prognosis of patients with gastric NETs associated with hypergastrinemia is better than that of patients with normogas­trinemia (Table 3). However, among the former NETs some subtype-specific differences are observed. Patients with type 1 ECL-cell NETs have an excellent prognosis with a 10-year survival rate of more than 90%, whereby G1 and G2 cases do not differ significantly from each other in their outcome, suggesting that tumor grade may not be the most important prognostic pre­dictor in this specific subgroup. Conversely, the risk for lymph node metastasis is mainly correlated with tumor size and deep wall invasion (Panzuto etal. 2019; Vanoli etal. 2018) and, for this reason, an accurate endoscopic evaluation of the wall infiltration plays a crucial role in determining the best therapeutic approach rather than the simple evaluation of tumor grade.
Type 2 NETs show lymph node and distant metastases in 30% and 10% of patients, respectively, and the 10-year survival rate is 60–90% (La Rosa and Vanoli 2014).
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Due to their extreme rarity, the prognosis of patients with type 4 ECL-cell NETs is not known, although lymph node metastases have been described (Abraham etal. 2005).
Patients with type 5 ECL-cell NETs develop lymph node metas­tases in about 15% of cases, but show an excellent prognosis, with a 10-year survival rate close to 100% (Trinh etal. 2020).
In contrast, type 3 gastric NETs are aggressive tumors, pre­senting metastases in about 50% of cases and a 10-year disease­specific survival <50% (La Rosa etal. 2011; Vanoli etal. 2018). In this specific subtype, tumor grade is associated with prog­nosis (Vanoli etal. 2018).
The rare antral gastrin- and somatostatin-producing NETs are indolent and associated with an excellent prognosis, even in presence of deep wall invasion or lymph node metastasis (La Rosa and Vanoli 2014).
Gastric NECs and MiNENs are aggressive carcinomas asso­ciated with a dismal prognosis and a mean survival time of few months. The Ki67 proliferative index, using the cut-off of 55%, is a prognostic factor in NECs, but also in MiNENs, where it needs to be evaluated in the NEC component (La Rosa 2021; Milione etal. 2018, 2017).
Clinical Presentation and Diagnosis
Matthias Schott
Type 1 tumors represent 75–80% of all gastric NENs and, as they involve only patients with atrophic body gastritis (2.4% of patients with atrophy at time of first diagnosis), occur mostly in women and are rarely responsible for symptoms. In fact, they usu­ally are nonfunctioning tumors, typically found during upper-GI endoscopy performed for dyspepsia or for macrocytic or iron deficiency anemia. This condition is associated with slow gastric emptying (explaining dyspepsia) and progressive reduction of acid output, thus impairing iron and vitamin B12 absorption. They present frequently as polyps in the fundic mucosa but can be also detected only at biopsies (previously called micro­carcinoids, 22.2%). Type 2 tumors are exclusively seen in mul­tiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN-1) patients, occurring in 23–29% of such cases (as compared with 1–3% in sporadic gastrinomas), so that genetic testing should be applied in young patients affected by these tumors. They appear as small (diameter 1–2 cm) polyps and may involve the entire fundic mucosa. They are generally asymptomatic. Type 3 tumors may be discovered incidentally, but are often responsible for pain, weight loss, and iron deficiency anemia. Atypical carcinoid syndrome due to his­tamine production is extremely rare (Gluckman and Metz 2019).
Diagnostic Imaging
Clarisse Dromain & Nicolas Villard
Multiphasic CT that includes the arterial phase and the portal venous phase is the first-line imaging modality.
Imaging features of gastric NENs are depending on the type of gastric NEN. Type 1 (associated with chronic atrophic gastritis)
and type 2 (associated with hypergastrinemia) usually appear on CT images as very small (<1 cm) multifocal hypervascular masses located in the fundus or the body of the stomach (Ganeshan etal. 2013). Because of the hypergastrinemia, present in type II, a marked gastric wall thickening may also be present. Type 3 usually present as large hypervascular solid masses.
Duodenum
Epidemiology and Pathology
Atsuko Kasajima, Günter Klöppel & Stefano La Rosa
Epidemiology
The relative frequency of duodenal NETs under all GEP NETs is 2–4%. Their incidence has steadily increased in the past 30 years (Klöppel 2011; Yao etal. 2008). They occur mainly in the sixth decade of life with a similar distribution of male and female patients (Klöppel 2011; Milione etal. 2018).
Classification
Duodenal NENs are classified according to the 2019 WHO cri­teria into NET G1, G2, and G3 (Table 1), NECs, and MiNENs (Klimstra etal. 2019). Duodenal NETs can be subdivided into three groups based on their histologic, hormonal, and genetic features (Vanoli etal. 2017). I) nonfunctioning NETs without special histologic patterns and immunoreactive for gastrin, somatostatin, and/or serotonin; II) nonfunctioning ampullary NETs with special glandular features and somatostatin immu­noreactivity possibly associated with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), or NETs with special gangliocytic and paraganglioma­like features, renamed “composite gangliocytoma/neuroma and neuroendocrine tumor (CoGNET)” in the 2022 WHO classification of neuroendocrine tumors (Rindi etal. 2022); and finally III) functioning NETs with gastrin immunoreactivity associated with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome (ZES) in patients with or without MEN1 syndrome. Most common are small nonfunctioning gastrin-producing NETs followed by soma­tostatin-producing NETs with glandular features.
Pathology
Nonfunctioning NETs without Special Histologic Patterns
These duodenal NENs are usually well differentiated, smaller than 2 cm, limited to the mucosa-submucosa, localized in the proximal duodenum, and not associated with an inherited syn­drome. Most of these tumors produce gastrin (Figure 3 A–B), followed by somatostatin and serotonin, with multihormonal­ity being common. They are positive for SSRT2A and ISLET-1.
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Figure 3 Histological and immunohistochemical images of duodenal neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). A: Immunohistochemical gastrin expression in a nonfunctioning duodenal NET. B Multiple gastrinomas (arrows) with immunohistochemical gastrin expression in a MEN1 patient. C: Histological image of a somatostatin-producing ampullary NET. D Immunohistochemical somatostatin expression in ampullary NET.
Lymph node and distant metastases are rare (5–10% of the cases) (Delle Fave etal. 2016; Donow etal. 1991; Rosentraeger etal. 2016; Vanoli etal. 2017).
ISL1), spindle-shaped Schwann-like cells, and ganglion cells (positive for S-100 and synaptophysin). They usually occur in the periampullary region and follow a benign course. However, occasional, large tumors (size > 2 cm) may spread to local
Nonfunctioning NETs with Special Histologic Patterns
Somatostatin-producing NETs with conspicuous glandular­solid and trabecular structures, often containing psammoma bodies, occur predominantly in the ampullary and periampul­lary region (Figure 3 C–D) (Garbrecht etal. 2008; Vanoli etal.
2017). When they involve the muscular wall, they have a size of 2 cm or more and an increased proliferation rate, the metastatic risk is over 50% (Vanoli etal. 2017). However, smaller tumors may also metastasize to the paraduodenal lymph nodes. Approximately 10–30% of the somatostatin-producing tumors are associated with NF1 (Dayal etal. 1986; Garbrecht et al. 2008; Vanoli etal. 2017), occasionally combined with a gastro­intestinal stroma tumor (GIST). A full somatostatinoma syn­drome (diabetes mellitus, diarrhea, steatorrhea, hypo- or achlorhydria, anemia, and gallstones) has not been described so far in association with duodenal somatostatin-producing NETs (Nesi etal. 2008; Vanoli etal. 2017) and its existence has therefore been questioned (Garbrecht etal. 2008).
Composite gangliocytoma/neuroma and neuroendocrine tumor (CoGNET) (traditionally called gangliocytic paragan­glioma) are characterized by their triphasic cellular differentiation and are composed of neuroendocrine cells (positive for somatostatin and/or pancreatic polypeptide and
lymph nodes (Garbrecht etal. 2008; Vanoli etal. 2017).
Functioning NETs
Less than 10% of sporadic (non-inherited) duodenal NETs that produce gastrin are functioning and associated with ZES (Rosentraeger et al. 2016) and are called gastrinomas. In 20–35% of cases gastrinomas arise in the setting of MEN1 syndrome (Rosentraeger etal. 2016). The MEN1-associated gastrinomas have, in addition to the MEN1-germ line muta­tion, an allelic loss of 11q13, which is also found in 46% of sporadic gastrinomas. An important histologic difference between sporadic and MEN1-associated gastrinomas is that the latter are multicentric (Figure 3B), show precursor lesions, and metastasize to lymph nodes more often than the sporadic ones (Anlauf etal. 2006; Pipeleers-Marichal et al. 1990; Vanoli etal. 2017). Both gastrinoma types share a low proliferative activity (Ki67 < 2%), a trabecular growth pattern with some solid or pseudoglandular structures, and often produce large lymph node metastases, the size of which usu­ally exceeds that of the primary (Anlauf etal. 2006, 2007; Rosentraeger etal. 2016). SSTR2A labels cell membranes in more than 90% of gastrinomas (Rosentraeger et al. 2016). Serotonin-producing NETs causing a carcinoid syndrome are unusual in the duodenum.
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NECs and MiNENs
These neoplasms are very rare and, in contrast to NETs, contain none of the usual hormones and display aberrant p53 and Rb1 expression. Both occur primarily in or close to the ampullary region. Histologically, NECs are often of the large cell type, and become a MiNEN when mixed with an adenocarcinoma. They present in advanced stages, i.e., with lymph node, liver, and other remote metas­tases (Garbrecht etal. 2008; Yang etal. 2021; Zamboni etal. 1990).
Prognosis
The 10-year survival rate of somatostatin-producing ampullary NETs is 71% and those associated with size < 2 cm have a better prognosis (Garbrecht etal. 2008). The 10-year survival rate of patients with duodenal gastrinomas is worse than that of non­functioning duodenal gastrin-producing NETs, but better than that of patients with pancreatic gastrinomas, probably because metastases to the liver are more frequent in pancreatic than duodenal gastrinomas and the local lymph node metastases seem to have little influence on survival (Garbrecht etal. 2008; Jensen etal. 2006).
NECs and MiNENs are very rare. While NECs and MiNENs are prognostically unfavorable, metastatic behavior in NETs is correlated to size (>1 cm), grade (2 and 3), and invasive growth beyond submucosa (Klimstra etal. 2019).
Clinical Presentation and Diagnosis
Matthias Schott
Small nonfunctioning duodenal NETs are detected inciden­tally; larger tumors can lead to intestinal obstruction or jaun­dice, depending on the localization. Gastrinoma represents the most common type of functional duodenal NETs and is dis­cussed in detail in the following section.
Gastrinoma
Symptoms and Clinical Signs
Most of the symptoms in patients with gastrinomas are asso­ciated with gastric acid hypersecretion. The latter can lead to the development of peptic ulcer, erosive esophagitis, and chronic diarrhea. Symptoms associated with peptic ulcers and their complications (bleeding, perforation, pyloric stenosis) are the most common presenting clinical features in patients
with gastrinoma (80%). Peptic ulcers in these patients are often multiple, located in unusual anatomic sites, and resis­tant to treatment. They are less associated to Helicobacter pylori infection compared to idiopathic peptic ulcers (24–48% vs. > 90%, respectively) and are not associated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID). Erosive esophagitis, caus­ing heartburn and potentially dysphagia, occurs in 50–60% of these patients. Finally, chronic diarrhea is a result of inactiva­tion of pancreatic enzymes (especially lipases), and damage of the intestinal mucosa, due to acid hypersecretion. Gastrinoma­related diarrhea is usually watery, may be associated with mal­absorption, and is the only diarrhea that responds dramatically to proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). It occurs in 40–70% of patients with gastrinoma and may be the only symptom in 20% of them (Norton etal. 2018) (Table 4).
Diagnosis
The biochemical confirmation, following clinical suspicion, of a gastrinoma requires a significant elevation of fasting serum gastrin in combination with hyperchlorhydria. The presence of the latter is very important, as hypergastrinemia alone can be a result of chronic hyperchlorhydria/achlorhydria, which is asso­ciated with chronic fundus atrophic gastritis, chronic PPI use, as well as vagotomy.
The diagnostic criteria for ZES are as follows: basal acid output (BAO) ≥ 15 mmol/h is suggestive of ZES diagnosis but can overlap with other situations. A threshold value with 100% specificity is obtained only for BAO ≥ 38 mmol/h (Jaïs and Mignon 1995). Elevated fasting serum gastrin is suggestive of ZES, but can be observed in other conditions, like H. pylori infection, antral G-cell hyperplasia/hyperfunction, atrophic gastritis, or use of PPIs. Very high fasting serum gastrin levels >100-fold normal (5–9% of ZES patients) are specific of ZES. Normal fasting serum gastrin values have been reported in less than 3% of patients with ZES (Berna etal. 2006). Two-thirds of ZES patients have fasting serum gastrin values <10-fold normal, not specific of ZES. In these two latter situations, gastrin pro­vocative tests are needed to establish the diagnosis. A secretin infusion (2 U/kg intravenously in 2 min) induces a marked increase in both serum gastrin and acid output (≥18 mmol/h) in 90% of ZES patients (Jaïs and Mignon 1995). An increase of serum gastrin >200 pg/mL is diagnostic of ZES (Campana etal.
2005). Recently, a large prospective study proposed new diag­nostic criteria (Berna etal. 2006). An increase from fasting gas­trin to post-secretin gastrin ≥120 pg/mL has the highest
Clinical feature % of patients
Peptic ulcers resistant to treatment, multiple, located in unusual anatomic sites, less
associated with H. pylori, and not associated with nonsteroidals
Erosive esophagitis causing heartburn and potentially dysphagia, resistant to treatment 50
Diarrhea responding to proton pump inhibitors 40–70
The above features in combination with other endocrinopathies 20
The above features in combination with family history of neuroendocrine tumors 25
Table 4 Clinical features of gastrinomas.
80
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sensitivity (94%) and specificity (100%) for diagnosis. The authors suggest that secretin stimulation should be used as the first-line provocative test because of its greater sensitivity and simplicity and lack of side effects. The calcium test should be considered in patients with a strong clinical suspicion of ZES but a negative secretin test. There is agreement in the literature that calcium and meal tests are less useful than secretin for detecting ZES (Norton etal. 2018; Rossi etal. 2021).
Diagnostic Imaging
Clarisse Dromain & Nicolas Villard
Multiphasic CT that includes the arterial phase and the portal venous phase is the first-line imaging modality. Thin sectioning and the use of a negative oral contrast agent are mandatory for the detection of small primary tumor in the duodenum that may not otherwise be seen.
NENs of the duodenum are most often small (mean 1.28 cm), multifocal and preferentially located in the first and the second part of the duodenum. Association with pancreatic NENs is frequent in case of G-cell duodenal gastrinoma associ­ated with MEN-1. On CT or T1W MR images, they present as intraluminal polyps or mural masses showing intense enhance­ment during the arterial phase with an increase of enhance­ment on portal phase images. Less often, some tumors present as circumferential wall thickening (Heymann etal. 2004). If a primary tumor is not seen in the duodenum, adjacent enhancing lymphadenopathy, present in 46% of cases, can be a clue to the presence of a duodenal NET (Tsai etal. 2015).
D-cell duodenal somatostatin-secreting tumor usually man­ifests as a periampullary tumor that may obstruct the common bile duct with upstream dilatation (Ganeshan etal. 2013).
Surgical Treatment
Levent Dizdar & Wolfram Trudo Knoefel
Gastric NENs
Surgical treatment of gastric NENs depends crucially on the tumor type which is important for the prediction of malignant potential and prognosis. In addition, tumor size and the presence of lymph node or distant metastases play an important role in determining the indication for surgical intervention. The only chance for cure is complete resection of the tumor.
Type 1 gastric NETs should be treated by surgical resection if the tumor is larger than 2 cm, if the muscle wall is infiltrated, if lymph node or distant metastases are detectable, or the resec­tion margin is positive after endoscopic resection (endoscopic mucosal resection/endoscopic submucosal dissection) (Basuroy etal. 2014; Partelli etal. 2014). Little evidence exists regarding the extent of resection. In the absence of lymph node metastases, organ-preserving resections such as wedge resection or 2/3 gas­trectomy without systematic lymphadenectomy appear to be sufficient. If lymph node metastases are present, partial, subtotal,
or total gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy should be per­formed. Antrectomy is a surgical treatment option for patients with multifocal, invasive, or recurrent type 1 gastric NETs. Resection of the antrum eliminates the G-cell-mediated hyper­gastrinemia, resulting in regression of gastric NENs in more than 90% of the cases (Ozao-Choy etal. 2010; Jenny etal. 2016).
Surgical resection for type 2 gastric NETs is indicated in analogy to type 1 gastric NETs for invasive, metastatic, or endo­scopically incompletely resected tumors. Antrectomy is not indicated for type II NETs because the hypergastrinaemia does not originate from the gastric antrum. Instead, the gastrinoma causing the hypegastrinemia should be identified and resected. For this purpose, surgical removal of duodenal gastrinomas (by duodenotomy with lymphadenectomy or partial duodenopan­createctomy) may be required.
Type 3 NET and NECs are characterized by an aggressive course with early metastasis. Therefore, depending on tumor localization, a subtotal or total gastrectomy with D2 lymphad­enectomy is indicated. An exception to this approach could potentially involve small (<2 cm), G1/G2 type 3 gastric NENs, which are confined to the submucosa and do not show lympho­vascular invasion. Endoscopic resection could be a reasonable alternative to surgery in this selected subgroup (Kwon etal.
2013). In patients with metastatic, poorly differentiated gastric NECs, surgery is usually not recommended, and systemic therapy should be initiated (Garcia-Carbonero etal. 2016).
Duodenal NENs
Basically, all duodenal NENs should be removed, unless unresectable metastases or severe comorbidities are present. Procedures used in the resection of duodenal NENs range from endoscopic resections to transduodenal local excisions to aggressive resection procedures such as partial pancreatoduode­nectomy (PPD) (Delle Fave etal. 2012; Jensen etal. 2012). The choice of the resection procedure is primarily based on the size, location, histologic grade and stage, as well as hormonal activity of the tumor. Small (≤1 cm) well-differentiated duodenal NETs without metastases or hormonal activity can be resected with endoscopic techniques if they are not located in the periampul­lary region (Delle Fave etal. 2012). For tumors localized in the periampullary region, local surgical resection with lymphade­nectomy or picking is recommended in current guidelines, even for small tumors (≤1 cm). For NENs of the ampulla, surgical resection by PPD is commonly recommended, as tumor size in this location appears to be less closely associated with the malig­nant potential of the neoplasia (Delle Fave etal. 2012; Randle etal. 2014). However, some studies indicate that for small (<2 cm), well-differentiated (G1) ampullary NETs, endoscopic pap­illectomy may represent a curative therapy if no metastases are detectable (De Palma etal. 2010; Odabasi etal. 2013). Treatment of duodenal NENs 1–2 cm in size is controversial, with some data suggesting that endoscopic resection is reasonable if there is no evidence of lymph node metastasis (Kachare etal. 2014), while others recommend surgery for these tumors (Zyromski etal. 2001). According to current evidence, duodenal NENs >
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2 cm or tumors of any size with suspected lymph node metas­tases should undergo surgical resection (Delle Fave etal. 2012). The choice of the type of surgical resection is largely based on the size and localization of the tumor. NENs in the first part of the duodenum can often be removed by local resection, those in the fourth part by distal duodenectomy. NENs in the second and third part of the duodenum, however, usually require a PPD (Delle Fave etal. 2012). Duodenal NETs with potentially resectable liver metastases but without other distant metastases and without comorbidities that limit life expectancy or substan­tially increase the risk of surgery may be considered for resec­tion (Delle Fave etal. 2012). However, when distant metastatic, poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma of the duo­denum is detected, an absolute contraindication to surgical resection exists (Garcia-Carbonero etal. 2016).
Surgical Treatment of Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome (ZES)/Gastrinoma
The vast majority of gastrinomas are located in the duodenum or pancreas. In 60–90% of patients with both sporadic ZES and MEN1/ZES, a gastrinoma is found in the duodenum. Patients with sporadic gastrinoma, with potentially resectable disease and without serious comorbidities, should undergo routine sur­gical exploration for cure as lymph node metastases are present in at least half of all cases and surgery is known to decrease the rate of hepatic metastases and to prolong disease-related survival (Fraker etal. 1994; Norton and Jensen 2004). The extent of resec­tion depends on the size and location of the gastrinoma, and ranges from local excision to PPD. However, systematic lymph­adenectomy (hepatoduodenal ligament, hepatic artery, and retropancreatic) as well as an intraoperative sonography of the liver should always be routinely performed given the high rate of metastases (Bartsch etal. 2012). Up to 30% of sporadic gastrino­mas cannot be precisely localized preoperatively. In this situation, the indication for surgical exploration should still be made after multidisciplinary discussion, since in up to 90% of these cases the primary tumor can be detected intraoperatively by the surgeon (Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Gastroenterologie, Verdauungs- und Stoffwechselkrankheiten etal. 2018; Jensen etal. 2012; Morrow and Norton 2009). In the case of negative preoperative imaging, surgical exploration should include complete exposure of the pancreas with bidigital palpation and intraoperative ultrasound as well as a duodenotomy with duodenal transillumination, if necessary, and a routine lymphadenectomy in the gastrinoma tri­angle (Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Gastroenterologie, Verdauungs­und Stoffwechselkrankheiten (DGVS) etal. 2018; Morrow and Norton 2009). Laparoscopic resection of gastrinomas is generally not recommended as the primary tumor is often not detectable during preoperative examinations and difficult to identify intra­operatively (Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Gastroenterologie V-uS etal. 2018; Jensen etal. 2012).
MEN1-associated gastrinomas are usually multifocal, involving the duodenum and only rarely the pancreas. Surgical treatment of MEN1 gastrinomas is associated with a recurrence rate of >90% if PPD is not performed (Jensen etal. 2012; Norton
and Jensen 2004). Furthermore, patients with only small pancreatic tumors (<2 cm) have an excellent life expectancy. Therefore, routine surgical exploration in patients with MEN1­associated gastrinomas is controversial (Jensen et al. 2008, 2012; Norton and Jensen 2004). It is generally recommended that surgery should be limited to MEN1 pancreatic tumors larger than 2 cm to prevent metastasis (Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Gastroenterologie V-uS etal. 2018; Jensen etal. 2008, 2012; Norton and Jensen 2004). However, it should be discussed with the patient that surgery at the time of biochemical evidence of the disease offers the greatest chance of biochemical cure. PPD is associated with the highest long-term biochemical cure rate (80–90%) compared with so-called non-PPD resections (PPD 90% vs. non-PPD 30%). Nevertheless, non-PPD resections, including duodenotomy with excision of gastrinomas of the duodenal wall with or without distal pancreatic resection, are associated with very good long-term survival. Consequently, the role of PPD resection in patients with MEN1-associated gastrinomas is currently unclear (Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Gastroenterologie V-uS etal. 2018; Jensen etal. 2012).
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Pancreas
Epidemiology and Pathology
Irene Esposito, Lena Häberle & Björn Konukiewitz
Epidemiology
Epidemiological studies about pancreatic NENs (PanNENs) mostly refer to the category of well-differentiated NETs, whereas much less data is available regarding NECs due to their rarity and, possibly, to difficulty in classification.
PanNETs represent about 10% of all GEP-NETs according to the SEER data (Lee etal. 2019) and their incidence is increasing in all age groups, with a linear increase in the > 50 age group (Das and Dasari 2021) and an incidence rate of 0.33/100.000 without any relevant sex difference. The median age at diagnosis is 63 years, and the peak incidence is found at the age of 70–75; PanNETs are rare before the age of 35 (Lee etal. 2019). In some geographical areas, PanNETs represent the most frequent GEP-NETs, as for example in some European countries like Portugal and some Asiatic countries, like India and China (Das and Dasari 2021).
PanNET show the lowest 5-years survival rate (37.6%) among GEP-NETs according to the SEER data (Lee etal. 2019). Higher survival rates have been reported in other countries, such as Canada (48.8%) (Hallet etal. 2015) and Norway (43%) (Hauso etal. 2008). The tumor stage and the grading are the most relevant factors associated with prognosis.
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PanNECs are exceedingly rare and make-up about 20% of all
GEP-NECs according to a SEER database analysis (Dasari etal.
2018). The incidence of GEP-NECs has been increasing steadily in the last 40 years, but it remains <1 case/100.000/year, same holding true for PanNECs. PanNECs are slightly more common in male than in females (56 vs. 44%) and the median age at diagnosis is 67 years. Most cases (75%) have distant metastasis at the time of diagnosis and poor median survival of only 5.7 months. Large cell histology seems to be more common (about 60%) (Basturk etal. 2014).
The recently defined category of G3 NET (see Introduction) has been most probably neglected in the available datasets, so that their frequency can be only inferred from retrospective series. For example, Kasajima etal. reported a frequency of 9% of G3 NETs in a consultation series comprising 1513 NENs from all sites; in 42% of the cases, the G3 NET originated from the pancreas (Kasajima etal. 2022). A single institution series from China, which included 480 Pan-NENs, identified 64 NETs G3 (13%), and 108 NECs (22.5%) (Yang et al. 2020). Altogether, G3-NET seems to represent about one-fourth of all G3 GEP-NENs (Heetfeld etal. 2015; Scoazec etal. 2017), but this figure might be underestimated.
Risk factors for PanNENs include a positive family history for cancer, smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity, and diabetes (Leoncini et al. 2016). In addition, 10–20% of PanNETs are associated with hereditary syndromes (see below, GEP-NENs and Hereditary Syndromes).
Pathology – General Considerations
PanNENs are classified in well-differentiated NETs and poorly differentiated NECs based on their morphologic appearance.
PanNETs occur everywhere in the pancreas; they are usually well circumscribed, but they may show a multinodular infiltra­tive growth, or a cystic appearance. Size at diagnosis usually ranges between 2 and 5 cm; the consistency varies depending on the amount of stroma, the color is reddish to yellowish­brown, necrosis is rare (Figure 4). PanNETs with a size of < 5 mm are designated microtumors and are usually detected incidentally at histological examination (WHO Classifications of Tumours Editorial Board. Endocrine and neuroendocrine tumours [Internet] 2022).
PanNETs display a wide spectrum of growth patterns, including solid-nested, reticulated-trabecular, gyriform, glandular, and solid-paranganglioma-like (Figure 5). The tumor cells are usually cuboidal to cylindrical with monotonous nuclei displaying the classical “salt and pepper” chromatin appearance; clear-cell and oncocytic variants as well as pleomorphic cells with prominent nucleoli have been described. The stroma is mostly scant and richly vascularized, but it may be abundant and sclerotic; calci­fications, sometimes in form of psammoma bodies, may occur (Konukiewitz etal. 2022).
Some morphological patterns are associated with specific
hormone-producing entities (see below, Specific Entities).
PanNETs are usually diffusely positive for cytokeratins, syn­aptophysin, INSM1 (Konukiewitz et al. 2022), CD56, and CD57. Chromogranin A is usually positive, but the expression is more frequently focal and shows an apical localization within the cytoplasm. Independently from their functional activity, PanNETs often express specific hormones, the most common being glucagon, somatostatin, and pancreatic polypeptide. In addition, they are positive for the transcription factor ISLET1 and they usually show a strong membranous expression of the somatostatin-receptor 2A (SSTR2A).
Depending on the proliferation rate, as assessed by the Ki-67 staining or on the number of mitoses/2mm
2
, PanNETs are graded into G1, G2, or G3 categories, as discussed above (Introduction, Table 1).
PanNECs are usually larger at diagnosis (mean size: 4 cm); they have a whitish color and a fleshy consistency and often display necrosis and hemorrhage. The small-cell subtype con­sists of solid sheets of cells with scant cytoplasm and round nuclei with inconspicuous nucleoli. Mitoses and apoptosis are common. The more frequent large-cell subtype often displays organoid, nested, or trabecular patterns of growth; the cells have large nuclei with evident nucleoli and a wider, eosino­philic or amphiphilic cytoplasm (Basturk etal. 2014).
PanNECs express cytokeratins, often with a punctuated pattern. Synaptophysin is quite sensitive for the diagnosis of PanNECs, whereas chromogranin A is very specific, but it dis­plays a limited sensitivity. ISLET1 and SSTR2A are usually nega­tive in PanNECs. The Ki-67 proliferation rate of PanNECs usually exceeds 50–60%. Altered expression pattern of p53 or Rb indicates a mutation of the respective gene, and it is useful for the differential diagnosis between highly proliferating NETs (G3-NETs) and NECs (Konukiewitz etal. 2017; Tang etal. 2016).
Pathology – Specific Entities
Nonfunctioning PanNETs account for approximately 70% of all PanNETs. This group comprises a plethora of heterogenous tumors either without or with production of peptide hormones that are not associated with a clinical syndrome linked to the secretion of hormones. Hormone-producing nonfunctioning PanNETs can be characterized by the production of orthotopic (insulin, glucagon, somatostatin, pancreatic polypeptide) or ectopic hormones (gastrin, serotonin, ACTH, among others). The hormones are located in the cytoplasm of the tumor cells and can easily be detected by immunohistochemistry (Konukiewitz etal. 2022). The spectrum of hormone expres­sion ranges from single cells to a strong and diffuse positivity in all tumor cells. Multihormonal tumors are common (Kapran etal. 2006; Konukiewitz etal. 2020). Nonfunctioning PanNETs nearly show the whole spectrum of organoid neuroendocrine
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Figure 4 PanNET. A: Intraoperative finding of a patient with a glucagonoma involving the pancreatic tail. The spleen as well as the distal pancreas were mobilized before performing the resection. B: Surgical specimen of a pancreatic NET after spleen-preserving resection. C: Resection specimen of a malignant insulinoma with infiltration of the transverse colon. The black arrow indicates the transverse colon, the white arrow marks the duodenum. D: Intraoperative finding of a glucagonoma in the pancreatic corpus. The white arrow indicates the superior mesenteric vein, the black arrow the glucagonoma.
Figure 5 Morphological subtypes of PanNENs. A: NET, gyriform pattern; B: NET, cord-like pattern; C NET, reticulated-trabecular pattern; D NET eosinophilic trabecular patter; E NET, clear-cell nested-trabecular pattern; F NET, glandular pattern; G NET, mixed microacinar (left) and gyriform-trabecular pattern; H small cell NEC; I large cell NEC.