Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Pulmonary NENs account for around 2% of all pulmonary malignancy. They are classified histologically into 4 types typical and atypical carcinoids which are generally well differentiated and large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) and small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) which are poorly differentiated. Within the literature there are several reports regarding overall survival on small mainly surgical cohorts, but data for the UK population are lacking. Only a few studies looked into differences between male and female patients and reported no differences in survival.

Aim: To describe the survival of a large UK cohort of patients with pulmonary NENs regardless any stage or treatment.

Methods: A retrospective study on all patients recorded in our local database (2000-September 2021) with any type of pulmonary NEN was performed. Additional data regarding, age, sex, grading and overall survival (OSS) were collected. For OSS the NHS spine was checked 6 September 2021. Kaplan Meier curves for survival analysis were performed and a log rank test for statistical analysis.

Results: Since 2000 there has been an increase in number of patients from a few yearly to 22 in 2019. A total of 147 patients, 59 males with median age 64.1 (interquartile range 53 – 74 year) could be identified. These were classified as 73 typical- , 43 atypical carcinoids, 8 DIPNECHs and 4 LCNECs, 3 SCLCs and 1 poorly differentiated carcinoid. At cut-off of the study 90 patients were still alive. The median OSS for the entire group is 119 months (IQR 57.3 – 180.7), the 5-year overall survival rate is 76%. There is a significant difference in OSS for patients with typical versus atypical carcinoids (P < 0.001) as well between male and female patients (P 0.026).

Conclusion: This study reports on the overall survival in patients with pulmonary NENs regardless staging or treatment in the UK. All newly diagnosed patients with a pulmonary NEN could benefit from expert centre input. The OSS survival differences between male and female patients has not been described before, but is in line with findings from the national NCRAS database, factors leading to this difference in survival needs to be better understood.