Rare breast and adrenal gland metastases from small-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of uterine cervix

Prognostic Value of FDG PET/CT in Patients With Neuroendocrine Carcinoma of the Uterine Cervix

PURPOSE

We evaluated the prognostic value of metabolic parameters measured on pretreatment FDG PET/CT in patients with cervical neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs).

METHODS

A total of 22 patients with cervical NECs who underwent pretreatment FDG PET/CT were retrospectively reviewed. The SUVmax, metabolic tumor volume (MTV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) of the primary lesion were measured. The associations between prognostic factors and progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were investigated using the Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank test, and univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards model.

RESULTS

Of the 22 patients, 12 developed disease progression, and 5 died during the follow-up period. Univariate analyses revealed that MTV, TLG, and the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage were significantly associated with PFS (all P < 0.05), whereas SUVmax did not show a significant correlation with PFS. Kaplan-Meier survival curves revealed that patients with MTV >31.9 cm3 (log-rank, P < 0.001), TLG >154.3 (log-rank, P < 0.001), and higher International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage (log-rank, P = 0.026) had significantly shorter PFS. In the multivariate analyses, MTV (P = 0.017; hazard ratio [HR], 7.298; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.427-37.316) and TLG (P = 0.003; HR, 15.175; 95% CI, 2.470-93.244) were independent prognostic factors, whereas for OS, the univariate analysis revealed that only TLG >154.3 showed statistical significance (P = 0.043; HR, 9.821; 95% CI, 1.080-89.290).

CONCLUSIONS

Metabolic tumor volume and TLG on FDG PET/CT were the significant prognostic factors of PFS in patients with cervical NECs. Patients with high MTV and TLG had worse clinical outcomes. In addition, TLG may also be a predictor of OS.

Neuroendocrine carcinoma of the cervix: a systematic review of the literature

BACKGROUND

Neuroendocrine carcinoma of the cervix (NECC) is a rare variant of cervical cancer. The prognosis of women with NECC is poor and there is no standardized therapy for this type of malignancy based on controlled trials.

METHODS

We performed a systematic literature search of the databases PubMed and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials to identify clinical trials describing the management and outcome of women with NECC.

RESULTS

Three thousand five hundred thirty-eight cases of NECC in 112 studies were identified. The pooled proportion of NECC among women with cervical cancer was 2303/163470 (1.41%). Small cell NECC, large cell NECC, and other histological subtypes were identified in 80.4, 12.0, and 7.6% of cases, respectively. Early and late stage disease presentation were evenly distributed with 1463 (50.6%) and 1428 (49.4%) cases, respectively. Tumors expressed synaptophysin (424/538 cases; 79%), neuron-specific enolase (196/285 cases; 69%), chromogranin (323/486 cases; 66%), and CD56 (162/267; 61%). The most common primary treatment was radical surgery combined with chemotherapy either as neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy, described in 42/48 studies. Radiotherapy-based primary treatment schemes in the form of radiotherapy, radiochemotherapy, or radiotherapy with concomitant or followed by chemotherapy were also commonly used (15/48 studies). There is no standard chemotherapy regimen for NECC, but cisplatin/carboplatin and etoposide (EP) was the most commonly used treatment scheme (24/40 studies). Overall, the prognosis of women with NECC was poor with a mean recurrence-free survival of 16 months and a mean overall survival of 40 months. Immune checkpoint inhibitors and targeted agents were reported as being active in three case reports.

CONCLUSION

NECC is a rare variant of cervical cancer with a poor prognosis. Multimodality treatment with radical surgery and neoadjuvant/adjuvant chemotherapy with cisplatin and etoposide with or without radiotherapy is the mainstay of treatment for early stage disease while chemotherapy with cisplatin and etoposide or topotecan, paclitaxel, and bevacizumab is appropriate for women with locally advanced or recurrent NECC. Immune checkpoint inhibitors may be beneficial, but controlled evidence for their efficacy is lacking.

(18)F-FDG PET in small-cell cervical cancer: a prospective study with long-term follow-up

PURPOSE

Small-cell cervical cancer (SCCC) is rare and prone to metastasize. We conducted a prospective study to evaluate the role of (18)F-FDG PET in the management of this aggressive malignancy.

METHODS

Patients with untreated primary, histologically confirmed SCCC were enrolled. (18)F-FDG PET (or PET/CT) was performed immediately after MRI or CT, for primary staging, monitoring response to treatment or restaging when there was suspicion of recurrence. The clinical impact of PET was determined on a scan basis.

RESULTS

A total of 25 patients were recruited and 43 PET scans were performed. The PET images were obtained for primary staging (25 patients), monitoring response (10 patients) and restaging when there was suspicion of recurrence (8 patients). The median follow-up time in event-free patients was 109.3 months (range 97.5 - 157.7 months). A positive impact of PET was found in 8 (18.6 %) of the 43 scans, which included detection of additional regions of distal lymph node (LN) metastasis (one primary staging scan, two restaging scans), bone metastasis (two primary staging scans, one monitoring response scan), and exclusion of false-positive lesions on MRI (one primary staging scan, one restaging scan). On the other hand, one negative impact was recorded as one false-positive lesion on a restaging PET scan. One positive impact was noted for monitoring response (bone metastasis). The impact of three scans was indeterminate. The positive impact of down-staging in avoiding overtreatment but finding additional distal LN (except one on restaging) or bone metastases had no beneficial effect on long-term survival.

CONCLUSION

The results of this preliminary study suggest that PET is useful in the management of SCCC. PET could have more value in detecting occult metastases if future novel therapies are able to offer better control of extensive SCCC.

Metabolic and anatomic characteristics of benign and malignant adrenal masses on positron emission tomography/computed tomography: a review of literature

PET/CT with (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) or using different radiocompounds has proven accuracy for detection of adrenal metastases in patients undergoing cancer staging. It can assist the diagnostic work-up in oncology patients by identifying distant metastases to the adrenal(s) and defining oligometastatic disease that may benefit from targeted intervention. In patients with incidentally discovered adrenal nodules, so-called adrenal "incidentaloma" FDG PET/CT is emerging as a useful test to distinguish benign from malignant etiology. Current published evidence suggests a role for FDG PET/CT in assessing the malignant potential of an adrenal lesion that has been 'indeterminately' categorized with unenhanced CT, adrenal protocol contrast-enhanced CT, or chemical-shift MRI. FDG PET/CT could be used to stratify patients with higher risk of malignancy for surgical intervention, while recommending surveillance for adrenal masses with low malignant potential. There are caveats for interpretation of the metabolic activity of an adrenal nodule on PET/CT that may lead to false-positive and false-negative interpretation. Adrenal lesions represent a wide spectrum of etiologies, and the typical appearances on PET/CT are still being described, therefore our goal was to summarize the current diagnostic strategies for evaluation of adrenal lesions and present metabolic and anatomic appearances of common and uncommon adrenal lesions. In spite of the emerging role of PET/CT to differentiate benign from malignant adrenal mass, especially in difficult cases, it should be emphasized that PET/CT is not needed for most patients and that many diagnostic problems can be resolved by CT and/or MR imaging.

A Rare Case of Metastasis of Small Cell Carcinoma of Cervix to Breast

Extrapulmonary small cell carcinomas (SCCs) are rare and often have an aggressive natural course. A 42-year-old female presented to the hospital with vaginal bleeding and lower abdominal pain. She was eventually diagnosed with SCC of cervix by biopsy. She was treated with chemoradiation. However, on follow-up positron emission tomography (PET) scan, fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake was noted in bilateral breasts. Biopsy of these lesions was consistent with metastatic SCC. Breast is a very unusual site for metastasis of cervical SCC and only four cases have been reported in the medical literature to date. Our case highlights the importance of considering metastatic disease when evaluating breast mass in patients with history of SCC of cervix.

FDG PET/CT imaging of extrapulmonary small cell carcinoma of the adrenal gland

Extrapulmonary small cell carcinoma (SCC) is an uncommon malignancy. A 57-year-old man was referred because of a 1-month history of left lumbago. MR images showed an ovoid tumor in the left adrenal gland. FDG PET/CT showed intense FDG uptake of the left adrenal tumor with thrombosis of the left renal vein. The patient underwent left adrenalectomy and nephrectomy. Histopathology revealed typical adrenal SCC with neoplastic thrombosis of the left renal vein. This case suggests that FDG PET/CT is useful for staging of extrapulmonary SCC.

Metastases from neuroendocrine tumors to the breast are more common than previously thought. A diagnostic pitfall?

BACKGROUND

Metastases from neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) to the breast have been described as a rare phenomenon. Presentation, imaging results, and cytopathologic findings of these tumours may closely mimic those of a mammary carcinoma.

METHODS

This study was a retrospective review of 661 patients with metastatic NETs, of whom 280 were females, treated at Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden. Patients with pathological breast lesions were identified. Histopathological slides from available NET breast lesions were analyzed for mammary carcinoma and neuroendocrine markers.

RESULTS

We have identified 20 female patients with NET metastases to the breast, 11/235 with small intestinal NETs, 8/55 with lung NETs, and 1/6 with thymic NETs. There were no male patients with NET metastatic to the breast. Four patients had their breast lesion initially diagnosed as mammary carcinoma. Retrospectively, these lesions showed negative staining for mammary carcinoma markers.

CONCLUSIONS

Metastases to the breast from neuroendocrine tumors may be more common than previously thought. Patients with a lesion to the breast and symptoms typical for NET may benefit from additional histopathological investigation, because NET metastases and mammary carcinoma have different immunohistochemical profiles.