Primary Small Cell Carcinoma in Stomach

Abstract

Small cell carcinoma (SCC) is most commonly found in the lung, but is occasionally found in the gastrointestinal tract. The following case presents the discovery of small cell carcinoma of stomach in a 74 year old man who presented with dyspepsia. An esophagogastroduodenal endoscopic examination revealed an ulcerofungating tumor over the lesser curvature of the stomach. Computed tomography showed enhanced wall thickening of the less curvature, stomach with suspicious metastatic lymph nodes and organs. Histological examination confirmed primary small cell carcinoma of the stomach. The patient was treated with chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin 80 mg/m2 on day 1 combined with etoposide 80 mg/m2 on days 1-3. After one cycle of the chemotherapy, his hospital course was complicated by a hospital acquired pneumonia. He subsequently died on day 24 of hospitalization. We report a patient with gastric pure small cell carcinoma who tried the chemotherapy, as a rare case in Korea.