OBJECTIVETo investigate the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of colorectal neuroendocrine carcinoma.

METHODSClinical data of 39 patients with colorectal neuroendocrine carcinoma from Jan 1995 to Jan 2010 were analyzed retrospectively and the related literatures were reviewed.

RESULTSThere were 27 males and 12 females. No patients presented endocrinal dysfunction symptoms. Fourteen patients were diagnosed as neuroendocrine cancer by preoperative pathological examination. All the patients received postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy including cis-platinum and etoposide. Twenty-two patients underwent curative resection, while 14 underwent palliative resection and 3 underwent biopsy alone. Of the 36 surgical resection specimens, vascular invasion was found in 27 patients (75.0%) and regional lymph node metastasis was found in 29 patients (80.6%). Length of follow-up ranged from 4 to 67 months. The 1-year, 3-year and 5-year survival rates were 48.2%, 16.5% and 6.8%, respectively. Statistically significant differences in survival were observed and associated with tumor staging, vascular invasion and surgery type (P<0.05), but not related to gender, age, tumor location, or diameter (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONSClinical symptoms and signs of colorectal neuroendocrine carcinoma are nonspecific with poor prognosis. Tumor staging, vascular invasion and surgical type have potential impact on survival.