Primary small cell carcinoma of the ureter

Abstract

Abstract:We report a case of primary small cell carcinoma of the ureter. These tumors are very rare, locally aggressive and with poor prognosis. A 77-year-old man presented with left flank pain and microhematuria. Following diagnosis of ureteral carcinoma, nephroureterectomy was carried out, and adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy were given. The patient had no evidence of recurrence or metastasis, 13 months postoperatively. We provide a bibliographic review and comment on its clinical and pathologic characteristics, diagnostic methods and latest modifications in therapy.

Primary small cell carcinoma of the ureter with hydronephrosis: A case report

“…Furthermore, patients administered platinum-based chemotherapy appeared to exhibit a higher median survival time than those who were not administered a regimen containing platinum. The combination of etoposide and cisplatin is a very frequently used regimen, with a response rate of 69% found in one study of the treatment of extrapulmonary small cell carcinoma 3 , 4 . In the present case, the patient received 80 mg/m 2 intravenous cisplatin on day 1 and 100 mg/m 2 etoposide on days 1–3, every 21 days for two cycles.…”

“…The bladder is the most common location of small cell neuroendocrine carcinomas, but they are extremely rare in the ureter, with fewer than 50 earlier cases reported in the literature since the first case was reported by Ordonez et al in 1986 3 . The origin of small cell carcinoma of genitourinary systems remains unclear, but the urinary tract contains neuroendocrine cells that might be a source of small cell carcinoma 4 …”

“…Many clinicians have proposed that multimodality therapy, including surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy is fundamentally important for patients with small cell carcinoma of the urinary tract. The surgical treatment is usually followed by adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy 2 , 4 …”

Small Cell Carcinoma of the Renal Pelvis and Ureter: Clinicopathologic and Immunohistochemical Features

“…We identified a total of 21 cases of previously published SCC of the renal pelvis and/or ureter spanning a period of 23 years. 5,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] The clinical and pathologic features of these cases are presented in Table 3, and the comparison discussed below reveals some interesting differences between these and the cases in our series.…”

“…11 One postulates the presence of a multipotential stem cell capable of differentiation into more than one cell type, which may explain the frequent association of urothelial and other cell types in mixed tumors. 10,17,18 The other suggests the presence of neuroendocrine cells, derived from the neural crest during embryogenesis, within the normal mucosa of the urinary tract. In support of the latter theory, neuroendocrine cells have been detected within normal urothelial mucosa and in 1 case subjacent to a mixed tumor (SCC and URO).…”