Combined small cell carcinoma of the hypopharynx.
We report an extremely rare case of combined small cell carcinoma (combined SmCC) of the hypopharynx. A 73-year-old male presented with multiple left neck swellings for 1 month. A tumorous lesion was found in the left pyriform sinus, and biopsy revealed that the lesion was squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC). Surgery was performed and pathological examination led to a diagnosis as combined SmCC, composed of SqCC and small cell carcinoma (SmCC). One month after surgery, a contrast-CT indicated metastases to the cervical lymph node (LN), mediastinum and liver. We performed 5 courses of chemotherapy with the use of cisplatin (CDDP) and irinotecan (CPT-11). The patient temporarily showed a favorable response to the chemotherapy; however, eventually he died of regrowth of the tumor. Combined SmCC is a disease with a poor prognosis. Although biopsy sometimes fails to detect the SmCC component, intensive diagnosis and treatment are necessary.
Department of Otolaryngology, Hyogo College of Medicine, 1-1 Mukogawa-cho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan. nobu-uwa@hyo-med.ac.jp
Nobuhiro
N
Uwa
Tomonori
T
Terada
Takeshi
T
Mohri
Ken
K
Okazaki
Yoshitane
Y
Tsukamoto
Seiichi
S
Hirota
Masafumi
M
Sakagami
D000368:Aged; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007012:Hypopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008479:Mediastinal Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D009378:Neoplasms, Multiple Primary / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery