Lung carcinoid tumor is a type of neuroendocrine tumor, which is
subdivided into typical carcinoid (TC) and atypical carcinoid (AT),
based on the rate of mitosis and the presence of necrosis. Several
prognostic factors for lung carcinoids have been reported in the
literature, including the type, Ki67 index, stage, chemotherapy and
radiation therapy. In the present study, 108 cases with resected
carcinoid lung tumors were enrolled and the expression of CD56, thyroid
transcription factor 1, synaptophysin, carcinoembryonic antigen,
epithelial membrane antigen and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) in the
resected tissue specimens was immunohistochemically analyzed. Patients
with positive staining for NSE had an unfavorable survival prognosis
compared with patients with negative staining for NSE (137.2 vs. 150.0
months, P=0.044). According to univariate analysis, none of the above
immunohistochemistry markers was associated with survival, and according
to multivariate analysis, NSE was an independent influencing factor for
survival inpatients with AT (P=0.046) and furthermore, the stage was an
independent factor of survival in patients with TC (P=0.005)
