[Typical Carcinoid of the Lung with Abnormal Elevation of Serum Pro-gastrin-releasing Peptide (ProGRP)].

ABSTRACT

A 40-year-old male was referred to our hospital because of a nodular shadow detected in the left lower lobe with the tendency to increase gently. Because fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) uptake was extremely low on a FDG positron emission tomography (PET-CT), the tumor was highly suspected of the benign tumor. Five years later, a follow-up computed tomography (CT) showed the shadow to be enlarged. FDG uptake was changed to be high, and serum level of pro-gastrin-releasing peptide (Pro-GRP) was extremely elevated. Surgical treatment was chosen under suspicious diagnosis of neuroendocrine tumor, such as small cell carcinoma, large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma, and carcinoid. By the intraoperative aspiration cytology, a small cell carcinoma or a carcinoid was suspected and left lower lobectomy with systemic lymph node dissection was performed. The final histological diagnosis was a typical carcinoid. The elevated serum ProGRP immediately decreased to normal postoperatively.