Carcinoid tumours of the appendix: 21 cases, with a review of the literature.

Twenty-one carcinoid tumours of the appendix are reviewed. These represented 77 percent of all appendiceal primary tumours over a 16 year period and presented at a mean age of 32.3 years. No difference in sex incidence or significant racial trends were revealed. Discovery of the tumour followed presentation as appendicitis in most cases (14) and was incidental after routine appendicectomy at laparotomy in the rest. Most tumours were less than 2 cm in diameter, and five involved the appendix wall diffusely. All were argentaffin and contained significant areas of type A histological pattern. Lymphatic permeation was noted in nearly half the cases and invasion of the mesoappendix in 33 percent. Treatment was by simple appendicectomy in nineteen patients, appendicectomy with removal of a wedge of caecum in one, and right hemicolectomy in another. The literature is reviewed.