Carcinoid tumour of the oesophagus: a systematic review

Introduction
Knowledge about oesophageal carcinoids is based primarily on case reports, and therefore information about them is incomplete.

Aim
To collect information on oesophageal carcinoid tumours in a systematic review study.

Material and Methods
Databases including PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched for the characteristics of oesophageal carcinoid tumour. Studies included original articles, case series, or case reports, reporting at least one of the characteristics of benign carcinoid tumour or carcinoid tumour.

Results
Out of 670 studies searched, after evaluation and excluding non-relevant studies, 14 studies were included and analysed in the systematic review. These studies included 19 patients with carcinoid tumour of whom 57.9% were males with a mean age of 55.5 years. Dysphagia and weight loss were the most prevalent symptoms and signs in the patients. Lower oesophagus was the most prevalent site of tumour.

Conclusions
This meta-analysis showed that the mean age at diagnosis of oesophageal carcinoid was around 55 years, with 1.4 times greater prevalence among males, and located mainly in the distal oesophagus. The mean tumour size was 2.4 cm. The main symptoms and signs of this disease were dysphagia, weight loss, and reflux. The tumour behaviour was mainly non-aggressive except for cases associated with adenocarcinoma.