A case of typical pulmonary carcinoid tumor treated with bronchoscopic therapy followed by lobectomy

Konstantinos Porpodis¹, Michael Karanikas², Paul Zarogoulidis¹, Theodoros Kontakiotis¹, Alexandros Mitrakas², Agisilaos Esebidis², Maria Konoglou³, Kalliopi Domvri¹, Alkis Iordanidis⁴, Nikolaos Katsikogiannis⁵, Nikolaos Courcoutsakis⁴, Konstantinos Zarogoulidis^1
1Pulmonary Department, "G Papanikolaou" General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece; ²1st University Surgery Department, University General Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece; ³1st Pulmonary Department, "G Papanikolaou" General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece; ⁴Radiology Department, University General Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece; ⁵Surgery Department (NHS), University General Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Greece

Abstract: Carcinoid bronchopulmonary tumors represent approximately 25% of all carcinoid tumors and 1%–2% of all lung neoplasms. The most common symptoms are: persistent cough, asthma-like wheezing, chest pain, dyspnea, hemoptysis and obstructive pneumonitis. We present a case of a young adult diagnosed with a typical carcinoid tumor. The diagnosis was established on the basis of imaging examination and bronchoscopic biopsy. The patient was treated with bronchoscopic electrocautery therapy to relieve the obstructed airway, followed by surgical lobectomy in order to entirely remove the exophytic damage. This approach was not only a palliative management to bronchial obstruction but also avoided pneumonectomy. Recent studies support the use of such interventional resection methods, as they may result in a more conservative surgical resection.

Keywords: carcinoid tumor, typical lung carcinoid, therapeutic bronchoscopy, surgical resection