Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Oncol. Mar 24, 2025; 16(3): 101236
Published online Mar 24, 2025. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v16.i3.101236
Primary hepatic neuroendocrine tumor with a suspicious pulmonary nodule: A case report and literature review
Hai-Yan Lv, Mei-Xuan Liu, Wen-Ting Hong, Xia-Wei Li
Hai-Yan Lv, Department of Nursing, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, Zhejiang Province, China
Mei-Xuan Liu, Department of Burns and Wound Care Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, Zhejiang Province, China
Wen-Ting Hong, Department of Nursing Pathology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, Zhejiang Province, China
Xia-Wei Li, Department of Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, Zhejiang Province, China
Xia-Wei Li, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, China National Ministry of Education, Cancer Institute, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, Zhejiang Province, China
Xia-Wei Li, Department of Cancer Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310000, Zhejiang Province, China
Xia-Wei Li, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States
Co-first authors: Hai-Yan Lv and Mei-Xuan Liu.
Author contributions: Liu MX and Lv HY contributed to the conceptualization, methodology, and writing of the original draft; Hong WT contributed to the writing of the original draft; Li XW contributed to the project administration, writing-review and editing, resources and supervision; All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xia-Wei Li, MD, Department of Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, No. 388 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou 310009, Zhejiang Province, China. lixiawei@zju.edu.cn
Received: September 8, 2024
Revised: December 7, 2024
Accepted: December 27, 2024
Published online: March 24, 2025
Processing time: 134 Days and 20.1 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Primary hepatic neuroendocrine tumors (PHNETs) are extremely rare tumors originating from neuroendocrine cells. Due to lack of neuroendocrine symptoms and specific radiographic characteristics, PHNETs are challenging to differentiate from other liver tumors.

CASE SUMMARY

This case involved a 67-year-old male who was admitted with a discovered hepatic mass and a suspicious lung lesion. Primary hepatic carcinoma was initially speculated based on the characteristic magnetic resonance imaging findings. The patient underwent a laparoscopic right partial hepatectomy, and subsequent immunohistochemical examination revealed a HNET. To exclude other potential origins, a positron emission tomography-computed tomography scan and gastrointestinal endoscopy were performed, leading to a final diagnosis of PHNETs. Then we conducted a literature review using the PubMed database, identifying 99 articles and 317 cases related to PHNETs. The characteristics, diagnostic methods, and treatment of PHNETs have been described. Finally, we elaborate on the presumed origins, pathological grades, clinical features, diagnosed methods, and treatments associated with PHNETs.

CONCLUSION

The diagnosis of PHNETs was primarily an exclusionary process. A definitive diagnosis of PHNETs relied mainly on immunohistochemical markers (chromogranin A, synaptophysin, and cluster of differentiation 56) and exclusion of primary foci in other organs. Radical surgery was the preferred treatment for early-stage tumors.

Keywords: Primary hepatic neuroendocrine tumors; Pulmonary nodule; Neuroendocrine neoplasms; Liver; Surgical resection; Case report

Core Tip: This paper reports a case of a rare primary hepatic neuroendocrine tumor (PHNET). Subsequently, we conducted a literature review using the PubMed database to describe the characteristics, diagnostic methods, and treatment of PHNETs. The diagnosis of PHNETs relies on definitive pathological findings, with the primary objective of preoperative examinations being the exclusion of extrahepatic primary sources. Radical surgery is the preferred treatment for early-stage tumors, and overall outcomes of PHNETs are generally better than those of gastrointestinal NETs with liver metastasis.