Poorly Differentiated Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Pancreas: A Comparative Analysis of Primary Versus Secondary Tumors—A Literature Review
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Data Selection
2.2. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria
2.3. Data Analysis
2.4. Limitations of This Study
3. Results
3.1. Primary Poorly Differentiated Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Cancers
3.1.1. Incidence
3.1.2. Age, Sex, and Race
3.1.3. Clinical Picture
3.1.4. Outcome
3.2. Secondary Poorly Differentiated Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Cancers
3.2.1. Incidence
3.2.2. Age, Sex, and Race
3.2.3. Clinical Picture
3.2.4. Outcome
3.3. Differential Diagnosis
3.4. Treatment
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
pd-PNETs | Poorly differentiated neuroendocrine tumors of pancreas |
wd-PNETs | Well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors of pancreas |
MCC | Merkel cell carcnima |
SCLC | Small-cell lung cancer |
DLL3 | Delta-like ligand 3 |
ICIs | Immune checkpoint inhibitors |
GEP NECs | Gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine carcinomas |
LCLC | Large-cell lung cancer |
NEC | Neuroendocrine cancers |
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Ki-67 Index (%) | Mitotic Index (HPF2/10 HPF) | |
---|---|---|
Well-Differentiated NEN | ||
NET G-1 (low-grade tumor) | <3 | <2/10 |
NET G-2 (intermediate-grade tumor) | 3–20 | 2–20/10 |
NET G-3 (high-grade tumor) | >20 | >20/10 |
Poorly Differentiated NEN | ||
NEC G-3 (small-cell type and large-cell type) | >20 | >20/10 |
Mixed neuroendocrine–non-neuroendocrine neoplasm (MiNEN) |
Case | Age | Sex | Metastasis Sites | Clinical Picture | Histology | Diagnosing Method | Diagnosis Confirmation Method | Location | Treatment | Interval Between Disease Establishment and Death |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Corrin B. et al. [9] | 50 | Female | Liver | Fatigue, weakness, weight loss | Small-cell carcinoma | Technetium-99 m | Autopsy | Tail | Palliative/supportive | Not specified |
Hobbs R.D. et al. [10] | 66 | Male | Liver, gallbladder, mesentery, omentum, small and large bowel, adrenals, peritoneum, vertebrae | Weight loss. ascites, jaundice, flank pain, hypercalcemia | Small-cell carcinoma | CT | Autopsy | Head: 8-cm | Palliative/supportive | Not specified |
Morant R. et al. [11] | 54 | Male | Regional lymph nodes, liver, and bone marrow | Abdominal pain radiating to the back, diarrhea and weight loss | Small-cell carcinoma | CT | FNA | NA | Chemotherapy | Alive at 50 months |
O’Connor T.P. et al. [12] | 62 | Male | Direct invasion of the duodenum and anterior abdominal wall | Weight loss, vomiting, fever, symptoms of duodenal obstruction | Small-cell carcinoma | CT | Endoscopic biopsy | Head: 9 cm | Surgery + chemotherapy | 2 months |
Nakasone et al. [13] | 51 | Male | Liver and peripancreatic nodules | Abdominal pain, jaundice, pruritus, dark urine, weight loss | NA | CT | FNA | Head 3.4-cm | Chemotherapy + surgical resection | Alive at 2 years |
Van Fraeyenhove F. et al. [14] | 55 | Female | Liver | Abdominal pain, Diarrhea, flushing | Small-cell carcinoma | CT | CT-guided biopsy | Head | Chemotherapy + surgical resection | 2.4 months |
Yamamoto M. et al. [15] | 42 | Male | Liver | Abdominal pain and fullness | NA | CT | Tumoral tissue obtained by liver biopsy | Body: 5.6 × 2.5 cm | Chemotherapy | 13 months |
Kang N.W. [16] | 59 | Male | Peripancreatic tissue and lymph nodes | Abdominal pain and fullness | Small-cell carcinoma | CT | Pancreatectomy | Body: 3.3 cm | Chemotherapy + ICIs + surgical resection | Alive at 4 years |
Tohmatsu et al. [17] | 72 | Woman | No | Weight loss | Small-cell carcinoma | CT | FNA | Head: 3.2 cm | Chemotherapy + radiotherapy + surgical resection | Alive at 2 years |
Fonseca et al. [18] | 34 | Woman | Liver | Abdominal pain, weight loss, nausea | NA | CT | Biopsy of the liver metastasis | Tail: 5 × 7-cm | Chemotherapy | 33 months |
Li et al. [19] | 63 | Male | No | Abdominal pain | Small-cell carcinoma | CT | Exploratory laparotomy. | Head: 6.5 cm × 8.3 cm | Chemotherapy + surgical resection | Alive at 8 months |
Elzein et al. [20] | 29 | Male | No | Epigastric pain radiating to back, nausea, and mild weight loss | Small-cell carcinoma | CT | Biopsy of the perigastric lymph node | Head: 3.7 × 2.9 cm | Chemotherapy + surgery + radiotherapy | Alive at 28 months |
Primary pd-PNETs | Secondary pd-PNETs | ||
---|---|---|---|
SCLC with Pancreatic Metastasis | MCC with Pancreatic Metastasis | ||
Origin | Pancreas | Lung | Skin |
Incidence | ≈0.16 per 100.000 | Rare | |
Age | 59 years old in case series study, with the data including 485 patients, the majority of whom were >60 years old | 49–69 years | 60–80 years |
Gender | Male | Male | |
Race | White | White | |
Predominant Symptoms | Asymptomatic, Abdominal pain, Weight loss | Asymptomatic, Abdominal pain, Weight loss | |
Other Symptoms | Nausea, Vomiting, Jaundice, Flank pain, Symptoms of acute pancreatitis | Nausea, Vomiting, Jaundice, Symptoms of acute pancreatitis | |
Immunohistochemistry | CK20-negative | CK20-negative | CK20-positive |
Treatment | Surgery, radiotherapy, or/and platinum-based chemotherapy | Platinum-based chemotherapy + ICIs (e.g., atezolizumab) Tarlatamab for relapsed/refractory disease | ICIs (e.g., pembrolizumab, avelumab) |
Prognosis | Poor prognosis with medial survival of 11–12 months after diagnosis | Better prognosis with therapy, Tarlatamab group achieved medical OS of 20.3 months | Better prognosis with therapy, ICIa increase 2-year relative survival to 54% |
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Markov, A.; Pokhrel, A.; Wang, J.C. Poorly Differentiated Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Pancreas: A Comparative Analysis of Primary Versus Secondary Tumors—A Literature Review. Biomedicines 2025, 13, 1437. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines13061437
Markov A, Pokhrel A, Wang JC. Poorly Differentiated Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Pancreas: A Comparative Analysis of Primary Versus Secondary Tumors—A Literature Review. Biomedicines. 2025; 13(6):1437. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines13061437
Chicago/Turabian StyleMarkov, Aleksandr, Akriti Pokhrel, and Jen Chin Wang. 2025. "Poorly Differentiated Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Pancreas: A Comparative Analysis of Primary Versus Secondary Tumors—A Literature Review" Biomedicines 13, no. 6: 1437. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines13061437
APA StyleMarkov, A., Pokhrel, A., & Wang, J. C. (2025). Poorly Differentiated Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Pancreas: A Comparative Analysis of Primary Versus Secondary Tumors—A Literature Review. Biomedicines, 13(6), 1437. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines13061437