Middle ear neuroendocrine tumor with multiple brain metastases: a case report and literature review

Yesheng Sun; Ying Zhang; Dongpeng Cai; Wei Zhang; Zhiqian Yang

doi:10.3389/fonc.2024.1392610

Middle ear neuroendocrine tumor with multiple brain metastases: a case report and literature review

Front Oncol. 2024 May 30:14:1392610. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1392610. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Yesheng Sun^{1

2}, Ying Zhang^{1

2}, Dongpeng Cai^{1

2}, Wei Zhang^{1

2}, Zhiqian Yang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, China.
² Guangdong Provincial Engineering and Technology Research Center of Stem Cell Therapy for Pituitary Disease, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

Middle ear neuroendocrine tumor (MeNET) is a low-grade tumor with rare recurrence or metastasis. Here, we describe the case of a 29-year-old man who suffered from MeNET that recurred 3 times over 10 years and eventually metastasized to the brain. The patient was treated with surgical resection, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. However, the tumor was not entirely removed as the brain metastatic tumor adhered tightly to the brainstem. Due to tumor rupture and bleeding after multiple brain tumor removal, profound coma developed. Finally, the patient died 10 months after the last surgery. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a MeNET case with multiple brain metastases. Characteristics of the present case indicate that CK, SYN, increased Ki67 index, and ATRX may be potential biomarkers of invasive MeNET. The survival of patients with brain metastatic MeNET may be extended by surgical resection, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Close follow-up of distinctive metastases and biomarkers related to recurrence is also suggested.

Keywords: MeNET; brain metastases; carcinoid; chemotherapy; middle ear neuroendocrine tumor; operation; radiotherapy.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. ZY is supported by the Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Program Foundation (202102021067). This study was supported by the Medical Science and Technology Foundation of Guangdong Province (CN) (A2020419).