Clinicopathological features and survival analysis of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms: a retrospective study in a single center of China

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological features, survival and prognostic factors for gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (GEP-NENs) in a Chinese population. Methods: We investigated 154 consecutive patients (88 males, 66 females; median age 56 years, age range 9-86 years) diagnosed with GEP-NENs between 2001 and 2013 at The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University. Demographic, clinical and pathological variables and survival data were retrieved. Results: The pancreas was the most common site of involvement (63/154, 40.9%). Tumor size varied from 0.3 to 16.0 cm (median, 1.2 cm). The patients were followed up for a median period of 22 months (range, 1-157 months). The estimated 3-and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates for all patients were 84.0% and 81.9%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that larger tumor size, lymphatic metastases and distant metastases were significant predictors for poor survival outcome. Conclusions: Our data provide further information on the clinicopathological features of GEP-NENs in China. Additionally, we identified tumor size, lymphatic metastases and distant metastases as independent prognostic factors for long-term survival.