Primary intracranial small cell carcinoma: a case report and review of the literature.

Background: Extrapulmonary small cell carcinoma is a distinct clinicopathological entity accounting for only 2.5-4% of small cell carcinomas. Here we present a case of primary intracranial small cell carcinoma.

Case report: A 69-year-old woman with an isolated brain lesion presented with progressive headaches, confusion, nausea, and vomiting. A magnetic resonance imaging scan of the brain revealed a 4 × 3 × 5-cm solitary cystic tumor in the right frontoparietal lobe, accompanied by a midline shift. The mass was resected and pathologically proven to be a small cell carcinoma. The patient was given adjuvant radiotherapy but refused any chemotherapy. At the 12-month follow-up the patient was alive and well.

Conclusion: Primary intracranial small cell carcinoma presenting as an isolated lesion is extremely rare. While there are no standard treatment guidelines for these patients, the authors believe multimodality treatment including tumorectomy and postoperative radiotherapy should be recommended.