A single center’s experience of the extrapulmonary neuroendocrine carcinomas

OBJECTIVE: Extrapulmonary neuroendocrine carcinoma (EP-NEC) is a rare tumor type, and a standard therapy for EP-NEC has not yet been established. The purpose of this research was to explore the overall survival (OS) and therapeutic effects of platinum-etoposide combination therapy in EP-NEC. METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted based on the medical records from January 2010 to March 2020. Eligible patients had been pathologically diagnosed with EP-NEC. RESULTS: Forty-seven patients were included in the study. About 72.3% (n=34) of the patients were diagnosed with metastatic disease at the first diagnosis. The most common primary tumor site was the stomach. The median progression-free survival (PFS) of the patient group, who received the combination of platinum/etoposide, was 5.83 months (95% CI 4.46–7.20), whereas the median OS of the patients, who were found to have metastatic disease at the first diagnosis, was 13.6 months (95% CI 9.01–18.18). There was no difference in PFS and OS between patients with and without liver metastasis. CONCLUSION: The outcome of advanced EP-NECs with platinum/etoposide chemotherapy remains poor. Obviously, there is a need for new, more effective treatment options.