[Surgical results of large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung]

Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma is rare in the group of primary lung cancers and its appropriate treatment and prognosis are controversial. In this report, patients diagnosed as large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung were presented and discussed in the light of pertaining literature. Between February 1997 and March 2005, eight patients, who were diagnosed as large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma postoperatively among the patients with a preoperative diagnosis of nonsmall cell lung cancer, were analyzed retrospectively, by means of treatment method, disease free survival and overall survival. All eight patients were male and their mean age and age range were 64 +/- 7.6 and 50-72, respectively. Four patients had lobectomy, two had pneumonectomy and two had limited resections. One patient received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and seven patients received adjuvant chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or chemoradiotherapy. Follow-up period was 19.7 +/- 12.5 (3-39) months and disease-free interval was 19 +/- 12.9 (3-39) months. Two patients died of recurrence 14 and 16 months postoperatively, whereas six of the cases are alive with disease-free. Large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas are aggressive tumors with poor prognosis but better prognosis is also revealed after surgery at early stages. Most of the series in the literature are small in number of patients, as in our report, and treatment strategies are tried to be formed according to these data.