Pulmonary Carcinoid Tumors (Lung Carcinoids): Current Concepts in Diagnosis and Management
6 affiliations
- 1Northern Clinical School, University of Sydney, Camperdown, Sydney 2050, Australia
- 2Department of Medical Oncology, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney 2065, Australia
- 3Department of Experimental Therapeutics, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan
- 4Department of Internal Medicine, Japan Green Vietnam Clinic, Hanoi 11908, Vietnam
- 5Division of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Centre Singapore, 30 Hospital Boulevard, Singapore 168583, Singapore
- 6Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore 169857, Singapore
Abstract
Pulmonary carcinoid tumors are rare lung neuroendocrine neoplasms with diverse clinical behavior, ranging from indolent localized disease to metastatic progression. Diagnosis relies on histopathology but may be supplemented by immunohistochemical markers such as Ki-67. Recent molecular and multi-omic studies reveal substantial heterogeneity, identifying molecularly defined subgroups and highly proliferative carcinoids with aggressive behavior. Management includes surgical resection for localized disease and systemic therapies for advanced cases, such as somatostatin analogs, targeted agents, peptide receptor radionuclide therapy, and chemotherapy. While emerging molecular classifications and biomarker-driven strategies hold significant promise, current management of advanced pulmonary carcinoids relies heavily on extrapolated data from mixed neuroendocrine cohorts, underscoring the urgent need for prospective thoracic-dedicated trials to validate these paradigms in clinical practice. Emerging biomarker-driven trial designs and integrated precision medicine approaches offer opportunities to optimize therapy and improve outcomes in this rare tumor type.
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BibTeX
@article{chan2026pulmonary,
title = {{Pulmonary Carcinoid Tumors (Lung Carcinoids): Current Concepts in Diagnosis and Management}},
author = {David L. Chan and Yuji Uehara and Keigo Kobayashi and Aaron C. Tan},
journal = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/ijms27198868},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/19/8868},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Pulmonary Carcinoid Tumors (Lung Carcinoids): Current Concepts in Diagnosis and Management
AU - David L. Chan
AU - Yuji Uehara
AU - Keigo Kobayashi
AU - Aaron C. Tan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
DO - 10.3390/ijms27198868
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/19/8868
AB - Pulmonary carcinoid tumors are rare lung neuroendocrine neoplasms with diverse clinical behavior, ranging from indolent localized disease to metastatic progression. Diagnosis relies on histopathology but may be supplemented by immunohistochemical markers such as Ki-67. Recent molecular and multi-omic studies reveal substantial heterogeneity, identifying molecularly defined subgroups and highly proliferative carcinoids with aggressive behavior. Management includes surgical resection for localized disease and systemic therapies for advanced cases, such as somatostatin analogs, targeted agents, peptide receptor radionuclide therapy, and chemotherapy. While emerging molecular classifications and biomarker-driven strategies hold significant promise, current management of advanced pulmonary carcinoids relies heavily on extrapolated data from mixed neuroendocrine cohorts, underscoring the urgent need for prospective thoracic-dedicated trials to validate these paradigms in clinical practice. Emerging biomarker-driven trial designs and integrated precision medicine approaches offer opportunities to optimize therapy and improve outcomes in this rare tumor type.
SN - 1422-0067
ER -