Neuroendocrine differentiation: The mysterious fellow of colorectal cancer

Neuroendocrine differentiation in sporadic colorectal cancer has been recognized since decades, but its clinical impact is still controversially discussed. Detailed parameter analyses hint at the possibility that probably not neuroendocrine differentiation itself, but its association with poor grade of tumor differentiation, lymph node metastases, distant metastases and other unfavorable features contribute to worse clinical outcome. However, other studies deny a relationship between neuroendocrine differentiation and prognosis of colorectal cancer. This review elucidates, whether new insights into the origin of neuroendocrine differentiation in the intestinal epithelium, its regulation by mTOR pathway components and its possible link to the intestinal stem cell compartment could determine a role of neuroendocrine cells as prognostic marker and putative therapeutic target in sporadic colorectal cancer.