Bronchial Carcinoid With Osteoblastic Metastases: Cases With Carcinoid Syndrome

Introduction and Review of the Literature  More than 50% of abdominal carcinoids arise in the appendix, the remainder from the gastrointestinal tract distal to the esophagus, primarily the small intestine. Carcinoid of the appendix rarely induces metastases. MacDonald¹ reported distant metastases to the liver or lung in 16.4% of 146 extraappendiceal carcinoids. Bone metastasis was an uncommon finding. Dick et al² reported a case of abdominal carcinoid with an osteoblastic metastasis to the humerus. Pochaczevsky and Sherman³ reported a gastric carcinoid with multiple osteolytic metastases. Jaffe⁴ described a histologically proved osteoblastic metastasis in the humerus. Three additional cases of bone metastases from intestinal carcinoid have been reported. In these, the x-ray appearance was not described.^5-7 In 1960 Toomey and Felson⁸ reported on a case of intestinal carcinoid and one of bronchial carcinoid, both with osteoblastic bone metastases. Two additional patients with bronchial adenomas, the