Carcinoid Tumors, Bronchial

Key Features

• Diagnosis includes carcinoid and bronchial gland tumors, which are low-grade malignancies

• Most patients are younger than 60 years

• Men and women are affected equally

• Tumors grow slowly and rarely metastasize

Clinical Findings

• Common symptoms

  • Hemoptysis

  • Cough

  • Focal wheezing

  • Recurrent pneumonia

• Carcinoid syndrome is rare

• Bronchoscopy may reveal a pink or purple mass in a central airway

• Complications involve bleeding and airway obstruction rather than tumor invasion or spread

Diagnosis

• CT scan is useful to localize lesions and follow their growth over time

• Octreotide scintigraphy may aid in tumor localization

Treatment

• Surgical excision of symptomatic lesions is often necessary

• Prognosis is generally favorable

• Most bronchial carcinoid tumors are resistant to radiation or chemotherapy