A Rare Case of Primary Small Cell Carcinoma of Esophagus

Abstract

Primary small cell carcinoma of the esophagus is a rare, highly aggressive disease with a poor prognosis. A definitive diagnosis is made by histopathological study. As the disease is usually metastatic, palliative chemoradiotherapy is the usual treatment. We present a case of a 57-year-old female presenting with dysphagia. The patient underwent imaging studies showing the growth at the gastro-esophageal junction, with extensive abdominal lymph node metastasis and liver and lung metastasis. Biopsy was suggestive of small cell carcinoma of the esophagus. The patient underwent a feeding jejunostomy and was planned for chemoradiotherapy. Primary small cell carcinoma of the esophagus is an infrequent entity. As the disease is usually diagnosed at a later stage, the prognosis is inferior and abysmal.