Liver metastasis nineteen years after surgery for typical bronchial carcinoid

A resected case of metastatic liver carcinoid is presented. A 62 year-old woman, who had undergone removal of a typical bronchial carcinoid 19 years before, was found to have a well-defined, oval hepatic tumor on ultrasonography. The resected specimen was a hard and solid tumor, which was microscopically diagnosed as a carcinoid. Histological review of the previously resected lung tumor revealed that the liver tumor was a metastasis from the primary bronchial carcinoid. The patient is alive without recurrence 42 months after hepatectomy. This case suggests that typical bronchial carcinoid, a slowly growing tumor, may metastasize to distant sites after many years, and that re-excision of metastatic lesions may prolong survival time.