Neuroendocrine tumour arising inside a retro-rectal tailgut cyst: report of two cases and a review of the literature

摘要

Tailgut cysts (or retro-rectal cyst-hamartomas (RCHs)) are developmental abnormalities co nsisting of multiloculated cysts lined by squa-mous, transitio nal or glandular epithelium which, albeit rarely, may give rise to malignant transformations. Carcinoid tumours arising in the presacral region are extremely rare and usually benig n, and only a few are described in the literature. Case 1: A 63 -year-o ld female diagnosed as having bilateral ovarian cysts underwent surgery to remove a right adnexial mass that was histopathologically diagno sed as a well-differentiated carcinoid tumour. She is currently disease free after 18 months of follow-up. Case 2: A 41-year-old-female diagnosed with hepatic metastases and a solid pelvic mass arising from a moderate ly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma is currently alive with disease after having undergone surgical removal of the mass an d several medical treatments. We here describe two different clinical histories of well- an d moderately differentiated neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) arising from tailgut cysts in the prerectal space together with a review of the relevant literature