Primary Tonsillar Small Cell Neuroendocrine Carcinoma with Bone Metastases

Document Type : Case Report

Authors

1 Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia.

2 Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Hospital Raja Perempuan Zainab II, 15200 Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia.

Abstract

Introduction:
Small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) that arises from the tonsil is a particularly rare head and neck carcinoma. This kind of neoplasm mainly originated from the bronchopulmonary area; however, there were reported cases of extrapulmonary areas. The prognosis is poor as the tumour is an aggressive tumour and have a high risk of metastasis.
Case Report:
We experienced a patient presented with painless right neck swelling and hard tonsillar hypertrophy for past six month. Computer tomography showed the tumour extended to the parapharyngeal space and metastasized to the thoracolumbar vertebras. The intraoral biopsy of the tonsil confirmed primary small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the tonsil. The clinical presentation, radiological imaging, histopathological investigations, and methods of treatment are discussed.
Conclusions:
Due to the rarity of this disease, there is no definitive treatment yet for this disease. The physicians must thoroughly understand the nature and characteristic of the disease to find the best treatment. The latest discoveries in chemotherapy drugs and radiotherapy may improve the treatment modalities in the future.

Keywords

References

  1. Koss LG, Spiro RH, Hajdu S. Small cell (oat cell) carcinoma of minor salivary gland origin. Cancer. 1972; 30(3): 737-741.
  2. Stambuk HE, Karimi S, Lee N, Patel SG. Oral cavity and oropharynx tumors. Radiol Clin North Am. 2007; 45(1): 1-20.
  3. Jang H, Yuk SM, Kim JO, Han DS. A rare case of primary malignant small cell carcinoma combined with urothelial cell carcinoma in the ureter. World J Surg Oncol. 2013; 11(1): 181.
  4. Sen R, Bhutani N, Saini R. Primary small cell carcinoma of tonsil: An extreme rarity. Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2019; 44: 29-32.
  5. Berta E, Atallah I, Reyt E, Boyer E, Karkas A, Righini CA. The role of tonsillectomy in the initial diagnostic work-up of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma of unknown primary. Eur Ann Otorhino- laryngol Head Neck Dis. 2014; 131(5): 305-308.
  6. Travis WD. Pathology and genetics tumours of the lung, pleura, thymus and heart. World Health Organization classification of tumours. IARC Press, 2004.
  7. Nicholson SA, Beasley MB, Brambilla E, Hasleton PS, Colby TV, Sheppard MN, et al. Small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC): a clinicopathologic study of 100 cases with surgical specimens. Am J Surg Pathol. 2002; 26(9): 1184-1197.
  8. Bobos M, Hytiroglou P, Kostopoulos I, Karkavelas G, Papadimitriou CS. Immuno- histochemical distinction between Merkel cell carcinoma and small cell carcinoma of the lung. Am J Dermatopathol. 2006; 28(2): 99-104.
  9. Segawa Y, Nakashima T, Shiratsuchi H, Tanaka R, Mitsugi K, Komune S. Small cell carcinoma of the tonsil treated with irinotecan and cisplatin: a case report and literature review. Case Rep Oncol. 2011; 4(3): 587-591.
  10. Wang HY, Zou J, Zhou GY, Yan JQ, Liu SX. Primary small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the tonsil: a case report and review of the literature. Int J Clin Exp Pathol. 2014; 7(5): 2678-2682.
Iranian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology
Volume 34, Issue 4
July and August 2022
Pages 195-198

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics