Neuroendocrine carcinomas of the head and neck: A small case series

Neuroendocrine tumors of the head and neck are rare and arise either from epithelial or neuronal origin. Debate continues over the classification systems and appropriate management of these pathologies.

By investigating a small set of cases of high grade epithelial-derived neuroendocrine tumors of the head and neck (neuroendocrine carcinomas or NEC) from one institution, we compare survival rates of NEC of the head and neck to pulmonary NEC.

We identified patients from pathology records with neuroendocrine carcinomas of the head and neck and retrospectively collected clinical data as well as immunohistochemical (IHC) staining data.

We identified 14 patients with NEC, arising from the parotid (n = 5), nasal cavity (n = 4), larynx (n = 2), and other regions (n = 2). One additional patient had NEC arising in two sites simultaneously (parotid and nasal). Staining patterns using IHC were relatively consistent across specimens, showing reactivity to chromogranin and synaptophysin in 73% and 100% of specimens, respectively. Treatment courses varied across patients and included combinations of surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation. The overall survival rate at 1, 2, and 5 years of these patients was 56%, 56%, and 43% with a mean follow-up time of 2.12 years.

Compared to NEC arising in the lung, this subset of patients had better survival rates, but worse survival rates than the more common squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.