Primary ovarian trabecular carcinoid tumour: a case report with an immunohistochemical study and a review of the literature.

INTRODUCTION

Primary ovarian carcinoid tumours are uncommon neoplasias. There are distinct histological types with different behaviours: insular, trabecular, mucinous and mixed. The trabecular subtype is very rare and unlike other carcinoid subtypes, it is characterised by the absence of a clinical carcinoid syndrome and has been related with a better prognosis than the others. No distant metastases have yet been reported.

CASE REPORT: We present a case of a 76-year-old woman diagnosed with a left ovarian tumour. She underwent a radical hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and regional lymph node clearance. Histology revealed an ovarian trabecular carcinoid tumour and no adjuvant treatments were performed. The patient is alive and free of disease 70 months following diagnosis.

DISCUSSION: Immunohistochemical staining for p53 protein, and a comparative study with other subtypes of ovarian carcinoid tumours (insular and mucinous) is discussed in this report.