Pancreatic metastases from a bronchopulmonary carcinoid diagnosed by endoscopic ultrasonography-guided fine-needle tissue acquisition

Nearly 25% of well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors—carcinoids—arise within the bronchopulmonary (BP) system where they represent about 2% of all primary lung tumors.1,2 According to their histological phenotype, BP carcinoids (BPCs) are currently classified as typical and atypical, based on focal necrosis and/or mitotic count per 10 high-power field.3 Atypical BPCs are characterized by high incidence of regional lymph node metastasis,4 whereas distant metastases occur less frequently, the most common sites being liver, bone, and adrenals.5 We present a patient with an atypical BPC who developed pancreatic metastases diagnosed by endoscopic ultrasonography–guided fine-needle tissue acquisition (EUS-FNTA).