Primary ovarian small cell carcinoma of the pulmonary type: A case report and review of the literature

Small cell carcinoma of the ovary is a rare type of ovarian carcinoma with a poor prognosis. Two types should be distinguished: the hypercalcemic type and the pulmonary type. We report the case history of a 54-year-old woman with both a Stage IIIC small cell carcinoma, pulmonary type and a well-differentiated endometrioid adenocarcinoma of the left ovary in combination with a Brenner tumor in the right ovary. A review of the literature on small cell carcinoma of the ovary is given and the findings of our patient are brought into perspective in terms of both histopathogenesis and treatment outcome.

Ovary; Small cell carcinoma; Surgery; Chemotherapy

[1] Scully R.E.:'Tumors of the ovary and maldeveloped gonads". In "Armed Forces Institute of Pathology". Atlas c)j.Tumor Pathology, 1979, 16 (2), 316.

[2] Dickersin G.R., Kline l.W., Scully R.E.: "Small cell carcinoma of the ovary with hypercalcemia. A report of eleven cases". Cancer, 1982, 49, 188.

[3] Young R.H., Oliva B., Scully R.E.: "Editorial". Gynec:ol. Oneal., 1995, 57, 7.

[4] Young R.H., Oliva B., Scully R.E.: "Small cell carcinoma of the ovary, hypercalcemic type. A clinicopathological analysis of 150 cases". Arn. J. Surg. Pathol., 1994, 18, 1102.

[5] Forster C., Ostertag R., Schmitt J., Roessner A.: "Small cell carcinoma of the ovary, Hypercalcemic type". Gen. Diagn. Pathol., 1996, 142, 365.

[6] Ulbright T.M.: "Ovarian small cell carcinoma". N. Y. State J. Med., 1990, 90, 171.

[7] Taraszewski R., Rosman P.M., Knight C.A., Cloney D.J.: "Casereport. Small cell carcinoma of the ovary". Gynecol. Oneal., 1991, 41, 149.

[8] Eichorn J.H.,Y oung R.H.,S cully R.E.: "Primary ovarian small cell carcinoma of the pulmonary type". Am. J. Surg. Pathol., 1992, 16, 926.

[9] Shin H.C.J., Caraway N.P.: "Fine-needle aspiration biopsy of metastatic small cell carcinoma from extrapulmonary sites" Diagn. Cytopathol., 1998, 19, 177.

[10] Khurana K.K.. Tornos C., Silva E.G.: "Ovarian neuroendocnne carcinoma associated with a rnucinous neoplasm". Arch. Pathol. Lah. Med., 1994, 118, 1032.

[11] Lo Re G., Canzonieri V., Veronesi A., Dal Bo V.. Barzan L., Zancanaro C., Trovo M.: "Extrapulmonary small cell carcinoma: a single-institution experience and review of the literature". Ann Oncol., 1994, 5, 909.

[12] Fukunaga M., Endo Y., Miyazawa Y., Ushigome S.: "Small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the ovary". Virchows Arch., 1997, 430, 343.

[13] Chang D.H.C.. Hsueh S., SoongY.K.: "Small cell carcinoma with neurosecretory granules arising in an ovarian dermoid cyst". Gynecol. Oncol., 1992, 46, 246.

[14] Lim S.C., Choi S.J., Suh C.H.: "A case report of small cell caretnom arising in a mature cystic teratoma of the ovary". Pathol International, 1998, 48, 834.

[15] Kupryjanczyk J.: "Neuroendocrine tumors of the ovary - a review". Verh. Dtsch. Ges. Path., 1997, 81, 253.

[16] Remick S.C., Ruckdeschel J.C.: "Extrapulmonary and pulmonary small-cell carcinoma: tumor biology. therapy, and outcome". Med. Ped. Oncol., 1992, 20, 89.

[17] Matias-Guiu X., Prat J.,Y oung R.H., Capen C.C., Rosol T.J. et al.: "Human parathyroid hormone-related protein in ovarian small cell carcinoma. An immunohistochemical study". Cance,; 1994, 73, 1878.