[Digestive carcinoid tumors: often undiagnosed endocrine tumors (a case report)]

The authors reported a case of a carcinoid tumor of the ileum with nodal metastasis. Diagnosis was made by histological examination of the tumor after its removal. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated the presence of serotonin, synaptophysin, chromogranin and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) in the tumor cells. The patient was followed up for 15 months. Tumor ablation resulted in the total cessation of bronchospastic episodes in the patient, suggesting that these symptoms were mediated by tumor secretion. We also present a review of the literature concerning clinical, paraclinical and treatment aspects of gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors.