New cancer or carcinoid progression to small cell lung cancer?

Carcinoids and small cell lung cancer share neuroendocrine cellular origins. Surgery is the definitive treatment in typical carcinoid with few recurrences. For patients considered to be poor surgical candidates, ablative and cryotherapies have been utilized with good results. The long-term consequences of these alternatives approaches are unclear. We report a case of typical carcinoid treated with various alternative approaches over a period of 6 years with either transformation to small cell lung cancer or the development of a new primary in the same location.