Introduction: Primary small-cell carcinomas occur commonly in the lungs but rarely in the other organs. We studied the treatment outcomes in 6 cases of primary small-cell carcinoma of the digestive tract at our hospital.
Patients: Six patients were diagnosed with small-cell carcinoma of the digestive tract histopathologically and treated at our hospital from September 2000 to December 2018.
Results: The average age of the patients was 61.5 years(range: 40-80 years). Patients were 3 men and 3 women. The occurrence sites were the esophagus, stomach, and colon in 1, 2, and 3 patients, respectively. The patient with esophageal cancer underwent chemoradiotherapy without surgery. Other patients, except for 1 patient with colon cancer, underwent adjuvant chemotherapy after the surgery. Two of the 6 patients survived for over 5 years.
Discussion: For small-cell carcinomas of the digestive tract with poor prognosis, long-term survival can be expected using multidisciplinary treatments depending on the case.