Successful combination chemotherapy with irinotecan hydrochloride and cisplatin for primary gastric small cell carcinoma: report of a case

Primary gastric small cell carcinoma is a rare and aggressive malignant disease with a poor prognosis that was first reported in 1976 by Matsusaka et al. The incidence is very low and the clinicopathological features are similar to those of small cell lung carcinoma. We herein report a case of successful treatment by combination chemotherapy consisting of irinotecan hydrochloride and cisplatin for primary gastric small cell carcinoma. The patient was a 71-year-old male who was admitted to a local hospital with anemia. Gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed the presence of advanced gastric carcinoma at the upper region of the stomach. The patient underwent surgery, and the pathological diagnosis was small cell carcinoma due to the presence of the typical features of small round cells with scant cytoplasm that were positive for synaptophysin and chromogranin A in the resected specimen. The patient underwent subsequent combination chemotherapy, which provided him with over 1 year of survival and a good quality of life. We also present a review of the literature regarding chemotherapy for primary gastric small cell carcinoma.