Neglected left periocular neuroendocrine tumor with a debatable origin: histopathological case report and brief review of the literaturereport and brief review of the literature

The most common location of small cell neuro endocrine tumor (NET)is pulmonary, while the overall incidence of extra pulmonary NET is less observed. The extra pulmonary sites include the salivary glands, sinuses, thyroid, larynx, trachea, pleura, thymus, gastrointestinal tract, genitourinary tract, ovary, uterus, cervix, brain, lymph nodes, skin and eyelids.1 Non-ocular NET has been reported in various anatomic locations; however, primary orbital NET is uncommon, and majority of cases are metastatic.2 The orbit has been reported to be involved by NET in only 4-5% of all orbital metastatic cases.3 NET of the eyelid is a rare entity that has not been reported extensively in the ophthalmic literature.4 In this case report we describe a case of an aggressive neglected NET involving the left eyelids and anterior orbit. The case, was diagnosed based on histopathological features and immuno histochemical staining, however the origin of the tumor remained debatable.