Oncocytic carcinoid of the nasal cavity and carcinoid of the lung in a child.

A 13-year-old girl with an oncocytic carcinoid of the nasal cavity and a bronchial carcinoid of classical type appearing one year later is reported. This investigation includes clinicopathological features, light and electron microscopic studies and immunohistochemical analysis of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) of both tumors as well as an enzyme histochemical analysis of the nasal tumor. Based on the light microscopic appearance and ultrastructural and enzyme histochemical findings, the nasal tumor was primarily diagnosed as an oncocytoma, but due to the finding of neurosecretory granules and positivity for NSE in tumor cells, we believe it should be regarded as an oncocytic carcinoid. To our knowledge, this is the first case reported in literature of a carcinoid in the nose of a child and also the first case of simultaneous carcinoids in the bronchi and nasal cavity. The relationship between the nasal and the bronchial tumors, their origin from foregut-derived respiratory mucosa and their probable multicentric origin as opposed to metastatic origin is discussed. Furthermore, the criteria stipulated for the diagnosis of a true oncocytoma and oncocytic carcinoids are briefly discussed.