VOLUME 1 , ISSUE 2 ( July-December, 2023 ) > List of Articles
Romman Fatima, Jakkula Srikanth, Afra Fatima
Keywords : Case report, Gynecological cancer, Menopause, Vaginal
Citation Information : Fatima R, Srikanth J, Fatima A. Small Round Cell Tumor/Primary Neuroendocrine Tumor Vagina. J Obstet Gynaecol 2023; 1 (2):58-60.
DOI: 10.5005/jogyp-11012-0017
License: CC BY-NC 4.0
Published Online: 24-11-2023
Copyright Statement: Copyright © 2023; The Author(s).
Background: Primary neuroendocrine tumors are neural crest cells in origin composed of solid sheets of undifferentiated small round cells that stain for CD99, S100 protein, neuron-specific enolase, and vimentin. Neuroendocrine tumors are also referred to as amine precursor uptake and decarboxylation (APUD) tumors because these cells often show amine precursors like levodopa and 5-hydroxytryptophan uptake and their subsequent decarboxylation to produce amines such as serotonin and catecholamines. Neuroendocrine tumors can be classified according to their anatomical (Novel Treatment of Small-Cell Neuroendocrine of the Vagina, n.d.) and by their levels of differentiation. They are graded histologically into GX-indeterminate; G1 – having a mitotic count below 2; G2 – mitotic count between 2 and 20; and G3 – mitotic count greater than 20. The Ki67 index can also be used for grading the tumors where grade 1 corresponds to 3%, grade 2 corresponds to between 3 and 20%, and grade 3 corresponds to above 20%. Since these tumors secrete metabolites, that can be used as biomarkers; new markers are extensively studied besides those mentioned above like truncated heat shock protein 70, high levels of CDX2 a homeobox gene end product that plays a vital role in intestinal differentiation, and protein 55 which belongs to the chromogranin family. Several other methods are available to diagnose small tumors that are missed on CT scans, such as octreoscan, somatostatin receptor scintigraphy indium-111 scan, and even more accurate gallium-68-DOTATOC (Primary Small Cell Neuroendocrine Carcinoma of Vagina: A Rare Case Report, n.d.) scan. These tumors have an incidence of about 2.5–5 per 1,000 cases; one such case of genitourinary neuroendocrine tumor is described in this article.