Rectal Carcinoid: A Clinical Study Of 6 Cases And A Review Of Literature

Objective: To investigate the clinical-pathological features and treatment choice of rectal carcinoid.Methods: The clinical and pathological data including immunohistochemical results of 6 patients with rectum carcinoid were collected in our hospital from December 2003 to July 2006, and analyzed retrospectively. All patients were followed up till January,2008.Results: There were three patients with the maxmum diameter of tumor within 1cm, two patients between 1 and 2cm and one patient larger than 2 cm . All tumors located at the rectum ranging 2-12 cm to the anal verge, including two cases within 4 cm, three between 4 to 8 cm, and one case more than 8. All six cases were histopathologically diagnosed and threee cases combined with immunohistochemistry. Tumor invasion was confined to mucosa or submucosa in five patients , while serosa infiltrated in 1 patient. Nodular metastasis was detected only in 1 patient. All patients received surgery ,including local resection in 1 patient, and wide excision in 2 patients, radical surgery for 3 patients. All these 6 patients were survived without evidence of local tumor recurrence during the period from 21 to 51 months, but two cases suffered from breast cancer and colon cancer with hepatic metastases respectively.Conclusion: Digital rectal examination should be done in all patients suspected with rectal tumors. The pathologic and immunohistochemical examinations were the mainway of making a definite diagnosis in rectal carcinoid tumor. Tumor size and muscular infiltration played key roles in the determination of surgical choice for rectal carcinoid. Most patients with tumor size less than 1cm and without muscular infiltration could be cured by minimally invasive surgery or endoscopy surgery.