Gastric small cell carcinoma successfully treated by surgery and postoperative chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin and S-1: Report of a case

We herein report a case of gastric small cell carcinoma (GSCC), which was successfully treated by surgery and postoperative chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin (CDDP) and the fluoropyrimidine S-1. The patient was a 63-year-old man in whom a gastric tumor had been endoscopically detected. The type 1 tumor was located in the gastric body. An abdominal computed tomogram showed many metastasized nodes around the stomach. A total gastrectomy with regional node dissection was performed. The removed tumor was histologically and histochemically diagnosed to be a GSCC with node metastases. Furthermore, washing peritoneal cytology histologically revealed the presence of carcinoma cells. Metastasis was histologically observed in 17 of 24 dissected nodes. After surgery, CDDP was intravenously administered and S-1 was orally administered for 1 year. Consequently, the patient is now well without any recurrence 45 months after surgery. We reviewed 52 Japanese patients with GSCC/endocrine cell carcinoma (EC) reported between 2001 and 2005 with reference to chemotherapy. Chemotherapy using S-1 was performed for 11 of the 52 patients. Four of the 11 patients, including the present case, who were treated with S-1 survived for over 2 years after surgery, although the GSCC/EC of the four patients were staged as III or IV. Therefore, chemotherapy consisting of CDDP and S-1 may provide a survival benefit for patients with GSCC/EC.