Pure small-cell carcinoma of the prostate with fatal liver metastasis

A case of small-cell carcinoma (SCC) of the prostate is described with extensive liver metastases in a 60-year-old man. The case is unique because of the rare histologic pattern coupled with death secondary to hepatic failure. A spectrum of neuroendocrine tumors are found in the prostate similar to those found in the lung. Ten cases of prostatic SCC or carcinoid, identified in the English-language literature over a period of 14 years, are summarized. In the absence of an apparent pulmonary lesion, surgical pathologists should also consider the prostate as a primary site for extrapulmonary SCC when confronted with biopsy material of metastatic SCC.