Jejunoileal Neuroendocrine Tumors Complicated by Intestinal Ischemic Necrosis Are Associated With Worse Overall Survival

Context.—Jejunoileal neuroendocrine tumors (JINETs) are slow-growing, malignant tumors that are often associated with protracted survival, despite their frequent presentation at an advanced stage. A subset of JINETs is complicated by intestinal ischemic necrosis (IIN), which leads to their initial clinical presentation. Objective.—To assess the effect of IIN on overall survival in patients with JINETs. Design.—Ten JINETs with IIN during a 14-year period and a control group of 52 JINETs without IIN were identified retrospectively. The hematoxylin-eosin slides and gross descriptions were reviewed, and pathologic features were assessed. Overall survival was compared between the 2 groups using the Kaplan Meier method and Cox proportional hazards model. Results.—At 1 year postresection, only 40% (4 of 10) of the patients with IIN were alive, whereas 94% (49 of 52) of those without IIN were alive (P < .001). Patients with IIN were significantly older than those without IIN (median, 83 years versus 65.5 years, P = .001). By univariate Cox proportional hazards regression, IIN was associated with a 4.30-fold increased risk of death (95% confidence interval 1.75–10.56; P = .001). When controlling for age, advanced stage (stage III or IV), tumor grade, and synchronous carcinoma in a multivariate analysis, IIN showed a trend toward prognostic significance (2.31-fold increased risk of death; 95% confidence interval, 0.85–6.27; P = .10). Conclusions.—The pathologic identification of tumor-associated IIN portends a worse overall survival among patients with JINETs.