Diagnosis and treatment of poorly differentiated small intestinal neuroendocrine carcinoma

Small intestinal neuroendocrine carcinoma is poorly differentiated, highly malignant, and originated from the diffuse neuroendocrine system. It diffusely expresses the general neuroendocrine differentiation markers. The disease can be manifested as carcinoid syndrome, but most of the patients were with occult onset and absence of specific clinical symptoms, which led to difficult diagnosis before operation. On June 18, 2012, a patient with manifestation of recurrent vague abdominal pain received capsule endoscopy at the Northern Jiangsu People′s Hospital. The capsule endoscope was retained in the distal small intestine, and malignant ileum lesion was revealed during the surgical exploration. Finally, poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma with abdominal wall metastases was identified by pathological examination.