Carcinoid tumor of the bronchi. An infrequent tumor. Clinical study of 12 cases]

Twelve patients with a bronchial carcinoid tumor seen over the past 10 years, were retrospectively analyzed. The age, symptoms, smoking habit, previous respiratory conditions, X-ray and extension of the tumor, bronchial endoscopy, treatment and survival were studied. The mean age of these patients was 42.5 years with a male predominance of 2:1. More than half of the patients were smokers (58.3%). The most common symptoms were hemoptysis, costal pain, pneumonia and fever. Two of the patients were asymptomatic (16.6%) and their tumor was detected in a routine health control. Almost half of the patients (41.6%) complained of respiratory symptoms for 3 years previous to diagnosis (mean 7.8 years with a range of 3 to 11 years). 75% of the cases were centrally located. The left lung was most frequently affected (75%). Fiberbronchoscopy was carried out in nine patients; in eight of them the tumor was localized and information was obtained about the segment involved. However, the biopsy was positive in only one case (14.2%). Two patients presented endocrine symptoms with a syndrome similar to the carcinoid. The disease was disseminated with adrenal metastasis in two cases, one of which had also bone and liver metastasis. An immunohistochemical study was performed in eight cases with a positive result for ACTH and calcitonin in one patient. Ten patients were treated with surgery; one with chemotherapy and the other was treated with palliation. Two patients were lost in the follow up period.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)