Primary Neuroendocrine Carcinoma of the Breast Metastatic to the Bones, Which Chemotherapy?

Abstract

The primary neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) of the breast is defined as immunohistochemical expression of neuroendocrine markers (chromogranin and synoptophysin) in more than 50% of the neoplastic cells according to World Health Organization (WHO) classification of tumors in 2003 (Tumours of the Breast and Female Genital Organs, 2003, Lyon: IARC Press). It accounts for less than 5% of all cancers arising from the breast (Tumours of the Breast and Female Genital Organs, 2003, Lyon, France: IARC Press). However, based on the study conducted by Wang et al., the primary NEC of breast comprises less than 0.1% of all mammary carcinomas (Frankf Z Pathol, 73, 1963, 24). Because of the rarity of the disease and absence of the prospective trials, there is no standard treatment for primary NEC of the breast. Herein, we report the case of a middle age woman with primary NEC with bone metastasis.