Approach to the diagnosis of neuroendocrine lung neoplasms: variabilities and pitfalls.

摘要

With the publication of the spectrum of neuroendocrine proliferations and neoplasms and the features and criteria for diagnosing neuroendocrine lung neoplasms, there is more agreement in making a specific pathologic diagnosis of a neuroendocrine lung neoplasm. However, problems exist, especially in diagnosing well-differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas (atypical carcinoids), large-cell neuroendocrine carcinomas, and even some small-cell lung cancers. Some of this disagreement has to do with a pathologist's perception of sizes and shapes of cells. Nonneuroendocrine small-cell carcinomas exist and include small-cell squamous cell carcinoma, small cell adenocarcinoma, and basaloid carcinoma. Nonneuroendocrine lung cancers, especially large-cell undifferentiated carcinoma and poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, not infrequently express neuroendocrine markers immunohistochemically.