Treatment resistant small cell carcinoma of the cervix

Background: Small cell undifferentiated carcinoma of the cervix is an uncom mon malignancy with a poor prognosis. Treatment of localized disease has an approximate 40% 5-year survival with multimodality therapies. Case Report We describe the case of a 24-year-old woman with small cell carcinoma of th e cervix that recurred locally despite intensive chemotherapy and radiother apy. Hysterectomy was performed and the patient is now 18 months disease fr ee. Following treatment, the pathological appearance of the tumor had chang ed from a typical small cell neuroendocrine malignancy to a more intermedia te neuroendocrine cell type. Conclusion: Small cell carcinoma of the cervix is a rare aggressive malignancy that may require cytostatic multimodality therapy including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery, even in early sta ge disease. Copyright (C) 1999 S. Karger AG, Basel.