ABSTRACT
Pulmonary carcinoid tumor is an unusual, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with neuroendocrine (NE) morphology and differentiation, and thus belong to a group of tumors known as NE tumors (NET). Pulmonary carcinoid tumor is divided into two subtypes: typical carcinoid (TC) and atypical carcinoid (AT). Patients with carcinoid tumor may present with cough, hemoptysis, recurrent pulmonary infection, dyspnea, and chest pain; and up to half of patients are asymptomatic. Definitive diagnosis of carcinoid tumor currently relies on histology followed by confirmation with positive immunohistochemical staining or electron microscopy. Treatment for patients with small, localized pulmonary carcinoid tumor and adequate functional pulmonary reserve is conservative resection via a wedge or segmental resection, which leads to low recurrence rates and excellent long-term survival. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are relatively ineffective for TC and AC. Pulmonary carcinoid tumor generally demonstrates an indolent disease course.
