Extrapulmonary poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma (PDNEC) is a rare and highly aggressive neoplasm for which the optimal chemotherapy remains unclear. The objective of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of patients with PDNEC treated with cisplatin and irinotecan (IP) and perform a review of the literature. From 2008 to 2012, patients with advanced PDNEC (Ki67≥20%) who received the IP combination were selected for analysis. Radiologic responses were determined through Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors criteria. Twenty-eight patients were included. The median age at diagnosis was 57 years and the most common presentation was pancreatic PDNEC. Twenty-five patients (89%) received chemotherapy with cisplatin and irinotecan and three received carboplatin and irinotecan. Forty-six percent of the patients achieved objective response and the median time to tumor progression was 3.7 months. The median overall survival was 11.7 months. Thirteen patients (46%) had treatment interruptions or dose reductions due to grade 3/4 toxicity. This retrospective cohort of advanced extrapulmonary PDNEC patients suggests that the IP combination is feasible and resulted in similar response rate and median survival to other treatments previously reported.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.