title: Small cell carcinocythemia.
abstract: Tumor cells circulate in the blood, but it is unusual to find cancer cells on a routine peripheral smear. The term carcinocythemia is used to describe this phenomenon. Four patients have been reported previously with small cell lung cancer and carcinocythemia. A fifth case is described in this article. These patients presented with advanced disease and had generalized lymphadenopathy and liver involvement; 3 had splenic metastases. All of these patients experienced rapid clinical deterioration. Death occurred 3 days to 2 weeks from the time carcinocythemia was detected. The presence of small cell carcinocythemia can be one of the manifestations of end-stage disease and is associated with an extremely poor prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC 20010, USA.
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Sile
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nam
mesh_terms: D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000473:pathology*