Immunohistochemical analysis of small cell carcinoma of the head and neck:A report of four patients and a review of sixteen patients in the literature with ectopic hormone production

Small cell carcinoma (SCC) occurs mostly in the lung, and in some patients is accompanied by production of ectopic hormones. Small cell carcinoma of t he: head and neck is very rare. We report 4 patients with SCC of the head a nd neck (larynx, tonsil, maxillary sinus. and parotid gland). The patient w ith SCC of the maxillary sinus demonstrated a high level of plasma serotoni n and overexpression of parathyroid hormone: however, he did not show any r elated symptoms. The patient with SCC of the tonsil showed the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone associated with antidiureti c hormone hyperproduction at the terminal stage. In the literature, 16 pati ents with SCC of the head and neck with ectopic hormone production have bee n reported. Antidiuretic hormone and adrenocorticotropic hormone were the h ormones that caused clinical symptoms (paraneoplastic syndromes). We believ e that the evaluation of hormonal syndromes is valuable for diagnosis and t reatment.