Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2012 May;5(2):439-43.
doi: 10.1159/000342006. Epub 2012 Aug 9.

Primary small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the endometrium

Lisa N Abaid  1 , John S Cupp, John V Brown 3rd, Bram H Goldstein
Affiliations
Case Reports

Primary small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the endometrium

Lisa N Abaid et al. Case Rep Oncol. 2012 May.

Abstract

Background: Small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma is very rarely encountered within the endometrium.

Case study: A patient underwent a hysterectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy for a suspicious gynecologic condition. Pathology revealed invasive small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the endometrium; the neoplasm exhibited positive immunoreactivity for synaptophysin, pancytokeratin and CD56 but was negative for CD3 and CD20. Prior to chemotherapy, a completion lymphadenectomy was indicated to determine the presence of nodal metastases.

Conclusion: The prognosis of small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the endometrium is unfavorable but prompt detection with surgery and adjuvant therapy may confer a better clinical outcome.

Keywords: Endometrium; Gynecologic oncology; Small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
a At low power (40× magnification), the tumor shows infiltration through the myometrial muscle (overall, endometrium and inner/outer myometrium involved). b At high power (400× magnification), the tumor cells are discohesive and pleomorphic and associated with abundant apoptotic debris; numerous mitotic figures are also identified.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
a–c Immunostains exhibit diffuse positivity for two neuroendocrine markers, synaptophysin (400× magnification) (a) and CD56 (400× magnification) (b), and variable positivity for pancytokeratin (400× magnification) (c).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kurtay G, Taşkin S, Kadan E, Sertçelik A. Primary endometrial small cell carcinoma. J Obstet Gynaecol. 2012;32:104–106. - PubMed
    1. Bige O, Saatli B, Secil M, Koyuncuoglu M, Saygili U. Small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the endometrium and laparoscopic staging: a clinicopathologic study of a case and a brief review of the literature. Int J Gynecologic Cancer. 2008;18:838–843. - PubMed
    1. Hwang JH, Lee JK, Lee NW, Lee KW. Primary small cell carcinoma of the endometrium: report of a case with immunochemical studies. J Reprod Med. 2010;55:81–86. - PubMed
    1. Huntsman DG, Clement PB, Gilks CB, Scully RE. Small-cell carcinoma of the endometrium. A clinicopathological study of sixteen cases. Am J Surg Pathol. 1994;18:364–375. - PubMed
    1. Meirmanov S, Nakashima M, Rogounovitch T, Fukuda E, Nakayama T, Sato F, Sekine I. Small cell carcinoma of the endometrium: report of a case with analysis of Wnt/beta-catenin pathway. Pathol Res Pract. 2003;199:551–558. - PubMed

Publication types