©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Nov 7, 2015; 21(41): 11740-11747
Published online Nov 7, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i41.11740
Published online Nov 7, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i41.11740
Neuroendocrine differentiation: The mysterious fellow of colorectal cancer
Britta Kleist, Department of Pathology, Southern Hospital Trust, 4604 Kristiansand, Norway
Micaela Poetsch, Institute of Legal Medicine, University Hospital Essen, 45122 Essen, Germany
Author contributions: Kleist B and Poetsch M analyzed the literature and wrote the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflict of interest.
Correspondence to: Britta Kleist, MD, PhD, Department of Pathology, Southern Hospital Trust, Postbox 416, 4604 Kristiansand, Norway. britta.kleist@sshf.no
Telephone: +47-3807-3071 Fax: +47-3807-3076
Received: April 27, 2015
Peer-review started: April 30, 2015
First decision: June 23, 2015
Revised: July 7, 2015
Accepted: September 15, 2015
Article in press: September 15, 2015
Published online: November 7, 2015
Processing time: 190 Days and 12.8 Hours
Peer-review started: April 30, 2015
First decision: June 23, 2015
Revised: July 7, 2015
Accepted: September 15, 2015
Article in press: September 15, 2015
Published online: November 7, 2015
Processing time: 190 Days and 12.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: Neuroendocrine differentiation in sporadic colorectal cancer has been recognized since decades. In contrast to the clinico-pathologically well-defined pure neuroendocrine tumors and mixed adenoneuroendocrine carcinomas of the colon and rectum, the clinical impact of focal neuroendocrine differentiation in colorectal carcinomas is still controversially discussed. Further insights into the regulation of neuroendocrine differentiation by mTOR pathway components and recent knowledge about a link of enteroendocrine cells to the intestinal stem cell compartment hint at a role of neuroendocrine cells as prognostic marker and putative therapeutic target in sporadic colorectal cancer.