Abstract:
Objective To identify clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic factors of pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs).
Methods Pancreatic NEN cases treated at the Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital from January 2011 to December 2018 were reviewed and classified according to the 2019 World Health Organization (WHO) Classification. Clinicopathological characteristics were compared among different grades of pancreatic NENs, and survival analysis of all cases and each grade was performed.
Results Among 182 confirmed cases of pancreatic NENs, 78 (42.9%) had grade one (G1) neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), 82 (45.1%) had G2 NETs, 5 (2.7%) had G3 NETs, 15 (8.2%) had neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs), and 2 (1.1%) had mixed neuroendocrine-non-neuroendocrine neoplasms (MiNEN). Patients with higher-grade pancreatic NENs tended to exhibit aggressive behaviors such as neural or vascular invasion and metastasis to regional lymph nodes or distant tissues. When diagnosed, most patients were in advanced diseases stage (P < 0.05 for all). The Ki-67 index in NEC was significantly higher than that in G3 NET (P < 0.001); however, their Ki-67 index overlapped in the range from 30% to 60%. Both overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of patients with pancreatic NENs were significantly related to the 2019 WHO classification of the neoplasms (P < 0.05 for both). For patients with G1 NET, advanced disease stage at the time of diagnosis was an independent predictor associated with poor OS and PFSP=0.002, hazard ratio (HR)=12.472; P < 0.001, HR=10.562. For patients with G2 NET, surgical resection was an independent predictor for longer OS (P=0.001, HR=8.217) and distant metastases at the time of diagnosis were independent predictors for shorter PFS (P < 0.001, HR=26.137). The prognosis of patients with G3 NEN was related to the Ki-67 index; however, cutoff values stratifying G3 NET and NEC differed (G3 NET:45%, NEC:70%).
Conclusions Pancreatic NENs are heterogeneous tumors whose clinicopathological features and prognosis differ. Most pancreatic NENs are well-differentiated NETs, some of which metastasize at the time of diagnosis and can relapse or metastasize after surgery. Differentiation is the most important factor to distinguish G3 NET from NEC; moreover, tumor cell proliferation and molecular monitoring (including immunohistochemical staining of P53) can be useful for differential diagnosis. Currently, there is no standard treatment for these neoplasms, especially G3 NEN that cannot be confirmed as either G3 NET or NEC. Therefore, additional multicenter studies with large sample sizes are needed to formulate a more dedicated criterion for diagnosing and treating pancreatic NENs.