Carcinoid of the ileocaecal valve: a case report

The authors present a case of carcinoid of the ileocaecal valve. The patient complained for over one year of mild pain in the right lower quadrant of the abdomen. Colonoscopy had shown hyperaemia on the colic side of the ileocaecal valve which appeared substenotic and biopsy revealed micronodules formed by chromogranin-A-positive neuroendocrine cells. Roentgenography of the small bowel and barium enema revealed a specular filling defect in the caecum and in the terminal ileum near the ileocaecal valve. Right hemicolectomy was performed and the definitive diagnosis was carcinoid of the ileocaecal valve. The tumour had spread to all layers of the intestinal wall and 4/19 lymph nodes were metastatic. The patient refused an oncological examination; however, three years after surgery there are no signs of recurrence. Carcinoids have been included in the APUD system and usually present endocrine activity. The 5-year survival of patients with gastrointestinal carcinoids is 80% when located in the appendix and rectum as against 50% in the stomach, jejunum and colon, because the localisation in the appendix and rectum is marked by clinical signs of appendicitis and rectal bleeding, which suggest diagnostic examinations useful for an early diagnosis. Radical operations according to the rules of oncologically correct surgery are the treatment of choice, while complementary treatments have yet to be codified.