| Article Access Statistics | | | Viewed | 3218 | | | Printed | 427 | | | Emailed | 0 | | | PDF Downloaded | 20 | | | Comments | [Add] | | |
|
Click on image for details.
|
|
 |
| CASE REPORT |
|
|
|
| Year : 2022 | Volume
: 68
| Issue : 1 | Page : 44-47 |
Pulmonary ossifying carcinoid – MEN in a male?
P Vaideeswar, M Bhuvan, N Goel
Department of Pathology, Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
| Date of Submission | 06-Jan-2020 |
| Date of Decision | 02-May-2020 |
| Date of Acceptance | 15-May-2020 |
| Date of Web Publication | 19-Jan-2021 |
Correspondence Address:
P Vaideeswar
Department of Pathology, Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/jpgm.JPGM_8_20
Pulmonary carcinoid tumors are considered as low-grade neoplasms, seen as centrally located endobronchial masses or as peripheral circumscribed nodules. Calcification or ossification is a known phenomenon, but presentation as large bony mass is extremely uncommon. Herein, we report a case of ossifying bronchial carcinoid along with nodular Hashimoto's thyroiditis as incidental autopsy findings in a 32-year-old patient with a prior recent excision of pituitary macroadenoma. This association suggests the possibility of multiple endocrine neoplasia in this young male.
Keywords: Multiple endocrine neoplasia, nodular Hashimoto's thyroiditis, pituitary adenoma, pulmonary ossifying carcinoid
How to cite this article:
Vaideeswar P, Bhuvan M, Goel N. Pulmonary ossifying carcinoid – MEN in a male?. J Postgrad Med 2022;68:44-7 |
| :: Introduction | |  |
Among the various neuroendocrine tumors of the lung, carcinoid tumors represent 2% of all pulmonary neoplasms. They are considered as low-grade tumors and present as centrally located endobronchial masses or as peripheral circumscribed nodules. Clinical presentation depends on the tumor location, presence of metastases, or paraneoplastic syndromes. Calcification or ossification is a known phenomenon in carcinoids, but presentation as large bony mass is very rare, a feature documented by Troupin[1] way back in 1968. Herein, we report a case of ossifying bronchial carcinoid as an incidental autopsy finding in a young adult male with a prior excision of pituitary macroadenoma. An additional association also detected at autopsy was nodular Hashimoto's thyroiditis. The presence of these three lesions suggested the possibility of multiple endocrine neoplasias (MEN) in this patient.
| :: Case Report | | |
A 32-year-old male, in 5 years, had developed coarsening of facial features and broadening of shoulders, fingers, and toes, followed by diminished vision, weakness, increased thirst, and increased frequency of urination. Based on hormonal assays [Table 1] and radiological investigations, he was diagnosed as a case of pituitary macroadenoma with acromegaly and diabetes mellitus type 2 (HbA1c of 18.6). Antidiabetic medications were started. After 7 months, he was admitted at our tertiary care center (second admission) for a transsphenoidal resection of pituitary macroadenoma [Figure 1]a after repeat hormonal estimations [Table 1]. His growth hormone level reached normal levels (0.5 ng/mL) by the fifth postoperative day and he was discharged with prednisolone supplementation. He was readmitted after 6 months with a 10-day history of diarrhea and vomiting and was managed symptomatically. All routine investigations were normal, hormonal assays have been tabulated [Table 1]. He developed a fever on day 5 of the ward stay and the next day, he had a sudden cardiac arrest. | Figure 1: (a) Pituitary macroadenoma showing clusters of polygonal cells with moderate eosinophilic cytoplasm with stippled chromatin devoid of any pleomorphism (H and E ×400); (b) Cancellous bone-like cut surface of a large subpleural mass seen in the apical segment of the right lower lobe
Click here to view |
A complete autopsy was performed. The apical segment of the right lower lobe showed an extremely firm well-circumscribed 5 cm mass, abutting the lobar bronchus. The cut surface appeared like a cancellous bone with a peripheral rim of pale brown tissue [Figure 1]b. The decalcified sections revealed classical features of a carcinoid tumor [Figure 2]a, confirmed on immunohistochemistry (IHC) with extensive osseous metaplasia [Figure 2]b. IHC for osteopontin was negative. The thyroid showed moderate diffuse enlargement with multiple pale yellow soft nodules of varying sizes on the cut surface [Figure 3]a and [Figure 3]b. All these nodules showed features of Hashimoto's thyroiditis [Figure 3]c, [Figure 3]d, [Figure 3]e. The heart was normal in size (weight 270 g) but on histopathology, there was mild hypertrophy and multi-focal interstitial/peri-vascular scarring, particularly in the left ventricle [Figure 3]f, which would have been the cause of the sudden death. Besides, there was bilateral acute pyelonephritis. Other organs were normal. | Figure 2: (a) The peripheral region of the mass showing nests of monotonous small polygonal cells with scanty eosinophilic cytoplasm and round nuclei with salt and pepper chromatin (H and E ×400); Inset shows immunohistochemical positivity for synaptophysin (×400); (b) The central portion of the tumor was entirely composed of bony trabeculae with intervening vascularized fibrofatty tissue (H and E 400)
Click here to view |
 | Figure 3: (a) Uniformly enlarged and firm thyroid gland with an undulant intact capsular surface, (b) The cut surface showed creamy nodules of varying sizes, separated by congested parenchyma, The histology showed features of Hashimoto's thyroiditis with (c) prominent lymphoid follicles (H and E ×250), (d) Oncocytic metaplasia (H and E ×400) and, (e) Lymphocytic infiltrate (H and E ×400); (f) Longitudinally cut cardiomyocytes of the left ventricle with mild hypertrophy and prominent fine interstitial scarring (H and E ×250)
Click here to view |
| :: Discussion | | |
Sudden, unexpected death in this young patient previously operated for pituitary macroadenoma lead to a discovery of a series of findings, notably ossifying bronchial carcinoid, nodular Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and dilated cardiomyopathy. Though calcification (30%) and ossification (10%) are seen as long-standing changes in lung carcinoids, massive ossification, bearing resemblance to a pulmonary osteoma[2] is distinctly uncommon. So far, there have been only six such surgically excised cases have been reported [Table 2].[1],[3],[4],[5],[6],[7] Atypical carcinoid was present in one other patient6; metastases were noted in two cases.[5],[6] The pathogenesis is explained based on “osteomimicry” due to the release of osteopontin and osteocalcin.[5] In our case, osteopontin immunohistochemistry was negative; staining for osteocalcin was not performed.
The association of an asymptomatic ossifying bronchial carcinoid with pituitary macroadenoma suggested the possibility of multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) type 1 in this young male.[8] The syndrome classically presents as the “P-triad,” which corresponds to parathyroid (95%), pituitary (30%), and pancreatic (40%) endocrine tumors; the latter is now expanded to include gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.[9] Furthermore, bronchopulmonary neuroendocrine tumors occur in about 2% of patients with MEN 1.[8] The disorder affects all age groups and manifestations are usually seen by the fifth decade in over 98% of patients. The diagnosis of MEN 1 can be clinical (presence of two or more MEN 1-associated endocrine tumors), familial (occurrence of one MEN 1-associated endocrine tumor with MEN 1 in a first-degree relative), or genetic (identification of a germline MEN 1 mutation in an individual who can even be asymptomatic).[8] However, sporadic mutations are also known. With these observations, we feel our patient may fit into the category of probable MEN 1 as there was no family history and genetic studies had not been performed. It is also possible that in this case pituitary macroadenoma was the first clinical manifestation. We were unable to explain the cause of diarrhea, which otherwise could have been a paraneoplastic syndrome in a setting of MEN 1.
About 15 to 27% of MEN 1 patients also have thyroid lesions, including Hashimoto's thyroiditis, not causally related to the MEN1 gene.[10] However, there is no mention of nodular Hashimoto's thyroiditis, as was classically seen in this case. The unfortunate sudden demise could be explained based on acromegalic cardiomyopathy, which is associated with both systolic and diastolic dysfunctions and even arrhythmias.[11] It is, therefore, highly recommended for acromegalic patients to undergo cardiac evaluation even when they are asymptomatic. In this case, only an electrocardiogram (EKG) was done as a part of preanaesthetic work-up for adenoma excision and echocardiography had not been performed.
Declaration of patient consent
The authors certify that appropriate patient consent was obtained.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
| :: References | | |
| 1. | Troupin RH. Ossifying bronchial carcinoid. A case report. Am J Roentgenol Radium Ther Nucl Med 1968;104:808-9.  |
| 2. | Markert E, Gruber-Mosenbacher U, Porubsky C, Popper HH. Lung osteoma - a new benign lung lesion. Virchows Arch 2006;449:117-20. |
| 3. | Shin MS, Berland LL, Myers JL, Clary G, Zom GL. CT demonstration of an ossifying bronchial carcinoid simulating broncholithiasis. AJR Am J Roentgenol 1989;153:51-2. |
| 4. | Vanmaele L, Noppen M, Frecourt N, lmpens N, Welch B, Schandevijl W. Atypical ossification in bronchial carcinoid. Eur Respir J 1990;3:927-9. |
| 5. | Tsubochi H, Endo S, Oda Y, Dobashi Y. Carcinoid tumor of the lung with massive ossification: Report of a case showing the evidence of osteomimicry and review of the literature. Int J Clin Exp Pathol 2013;6:957-61. |
| 6. | Khalil M, Eltorky M. Bronchial carcinoid with massive ossification: A case report and review of literature. Int J Cancer Ther Oncol 2016;4:429. |
| 7. | Osmond A, Filter E, Joseph M, Inculet R, Kwan K, McCormack D. Endobronchial carcinoid tumour with extensive ossification: An unusual case presentation. Case Rep Medicine 2016;2016:5984671. |
| 8. | Thakker RV. Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) and type 4 (MEN4). Mol Cell Endocrinol 2014;386:2-15. |
| 9. | Falchetti A. Genetics of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 syndrome: What's new and what's old. F1000 Research 2017;6:73. |
| 10. | Komminoth P, Heitz PU, Klöppel G. Pathology of MEN-1: Morphology, clinicopathologic correlations and tumour development. Intern Med 1998;243:455-64. |
| 11. | Mosca S, Paolillo S, Colao A, Bossone E, Cittadini A, Iudice FL, et al. Cardiovascular involvement in patients affected by acromegaly: An appraisal. Int J Cardiol 2013;167:1712-8. |
[Figure 1], [Figure 2], [Figure 3]
[Table 1], [Table 2]
|
