AUTHOR=Gallo Marco , Campione Severo , Di Vito Valentina , Fortunati Nicoletta , Lo Calzo Fabio , Messina Erika , Ruggeri Rosaria Maddalena , Faggiano Antongiulio , Colao Annamaria Anita Livia TITLE=Primary Neuroendocrine Neoplasms of the Breast: Still Open Issues JOURNAL=Frontiers in Endocrinology VOLUME=11 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2020.610230 DOI=10.3389/fendo.2020.610230 ISSN=1664-2392 ABSTRACT=

Neuroendocrine breast tumors represent a rare subtype of breast cancer, accounting for less than 1% of all neuroendocrine neoplasms. Starting from their pathology definition, and going through their prevalence, prognosis and treatment, our knowledge is still really uncertain. In the present short review of the medical literature on this topic, we have evaluated in details their epidemiology, risk factors, pathogenesis, pathology, clinical presentation, radiographic aspects, prognosis, and therapy. We have thus been able to identify a number of open issues regarding primary neuroendocrine neoplasms of the breast that need to be clarified. Our ultimate aim was actually to try to understand whether neuroendocrine neoplasms of the breast can be considered a definite clinical entity and if neuroendocrine differentiation of breast tumors has a really clinical relevance.