Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 19, 2026
08:14
Processing of Primary Brain Tumor Tissue for Stem Cell Assays and Flow Sorting
Published on: September 25, 2012
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Primary neuroendocrine tumor in brain.
Ryota Tamura1, Yoshiaki Kuroshima1, Yoshiki Nakamura1
1Department of Neurosurgery, Tokyo Medical Center, 2-5-1 Higashigaoka, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8902, Japan.
Case Reports in Neurological Medicine
|December 16, 2014
Summary
This case report details a rare instance of neuroendocrine tumor (NET) potentially originating in the brain, challenging typical pulmonary origins. Further research is needed to understand primary brain NETs.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Oncology
- Pathology
Background:
- Brain metastases from neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are uncommon, typically originating from pulmonary sources.
- The incidence of NET brain metastases is reported between 1.5% and 5%.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report a unique case of a patient diagnosed with a primary brain neuroendocrine tumor.
- To discuss the diagnostic challenges and implications of a potential primary brain NET.
Main Methods:
- A 77-year-old male presented with neurological symptoms.
- Computed tomography (CT) revealed a large brain lesion.
- Histopathological examination, including CD56, chromogranin A, and synaptophysin staining, confirmed NET.
- Extensive investigations including gastroscopy, colonoscopy, CT, and FDG-PET were performed to identify the primary tumor origin.
Main Results:
- A massive neoplastic lesion in the left temporal and parietal lobes was surgically resected.
- Histology confirmed a high-grade NET with a MIB-1 index of 37%.
- Despite thorough investigation over two years, the primary tumor origin remained undetermined.
Conclusions:
- This case suggests the possibility of a primary neuroendocrine tumor originating in the brain.
- This represents the first reported case of a potential primary brain NET, necessitating further investigation into this rare phenomenon.
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