Successful treatment of gallbladder neuroendocrine carcinoma with combined chemo-radiotherapy: A case report and literature review

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) occur in the bronchopulmonary system. Extrapulmonary NETs are rare and are considered to account for 2.5-5% of all NETs, with more than 60% of these tumors occurring along the gastrointestinal tract, including primary NET of the gallbladder. Primary NETs of the gallbladder have been classified as carcinoid, neuroendocrine carcinoma or heterogeneous carcinoma. Currently, the main treatment of neuroendocrine carcinoma remains surgery. The role of radiotherapy and chemotherapy is undefined because of the paucity of data. In advanced cases, chemotherapy has been prescribed with such effective agents as cisplatin, carboplatin, etoposide and paclitaxel. Here we report a case of a 64-year-old Taiwanese male patient with neuroendocrine carcinoma of the gallbladder who received combined chemo-radiotherapy (CCRT) with cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin (PFL) from June 2009 until now, and whose disease is stable. CCRT with PFL may be a possible regimen for high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma of the gallbladder.