Clinicopathological Characteristics, Survival and Prognostic Factors in Gastrointestinal Large Cell Neuroendocrine Carcinoma: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVES

Gastrointestinal large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (GILCNEC) has a low incidence but high malignancy and poor prognosis. The main purpose of this study was to thoroughly investigate its clinicopathological features, survival and prognostic factors.

METHODS

Information on patients with GILCNEC was extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Result program, and prognostic factors were analyzed by analyzing clinicopathological data and survival functions. Finally, multivariate analysis was applied to identify independent risk factors associated with survival.

RESULTS

A total of 531 individuals were screened in our study from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Result database. The primary sites are mainly from the following: esophagus in 39 (7.3%) patients, stomach in 72 (13.6%) patients, hepatobiliary in 51 (9.6%) patients, pancreas in 97 (18.3%) patients, small intestines in 27 (5.1%), and colorectum in 245 (46.1%) patients. Esophagus, stomach, pancreas, and colorectum large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) were more common in males ( P = 0.001). Esophagus LCNEC had inferior overall survival (OS), whereas small intestine LCNEC was associated with better OS. The results of multivariate analysis showed that the American Joint Committee on Cancer Sixth Edition stage, surgery, and radiotherapy were independent prognostic indicators of OS in patients with GILCNEC ( P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The prognosis of patients with GILCNEC varies depending on the primary tumor site. American Joint Committee on Cancer Sixth Edition stage, surgery, and radiotherapy are independent prognostic factors of patients with GILCNEC. Although surgery and radiotherapy can prolong the survival of patients with GILCNEC, their prognosis remains poor, and further prospectively designed multicenter clinical studies are needed to indicate the decision for clinicians.