Primary small cell ovarian cancer of pulmonary type: A case report

BACKGROUND: Primary small cell ovarian cancer of pulmonary type (SCCOPT) is a rare aggressive ovarian tumour with an incidence of <1%, usually occurring in perimenopausal or postmenopausal women and known to have a poor prognosis. Current treatment is platinum based but has not resulted in long term survival. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of a 77-year old Caucasian woman who presented initially with a one-week history of abdominal discomfort with raised inflammatory markers and Ca125 of 50 μ/ml. Calcium levels were normal. She underwent primary debulking surgery, and histology showed a tumour comprising areas of classical small-cell carcinoma morphology. 6 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy with carboplatin was offered. Relapsed/progressive disease was noted after 3 months of chemotherapy and patient died 7 months after treatment completion. CONCLUSIONS: SCCOPT is a rare aggressive malignancy with majority of the women having an overall survival of 2 years. There is no clear consensus for the diagnosis and optimal treatment.