Clinical features and prognosis of advanced intra- and extra-pulmonary neuroendocrine carcinomas.

Objective: We examined the clinical features and prognosis of advanced intra- and extra-pulmonary neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs) to offer additional guidance for the clinical treatment of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), which is a type of advanced intrapulmonary NEC (IPNECs).

Materials and methods: The clinical data and survival of 123 patients with advanced IPNECs and extrapulmonary NECs (EPNECs) were obtained. We retrospectively examined the corresponding clinical diagnosis and treatment and investigated the significant factors influencing the survival prognosis of patients with NECs.

Results: There were 90 cases of IPNECs (including 81 cases of SCLC), and 33 cases of EPNECs. The median overall survival (OS) of IPNECs was significantly longer than that of the EPNECs in the gastrointestinal tract and in the other regions (P < 0.05). The median OS of patients with other IPNECs was longer than that of patients with SCLC (P > 0.05). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that age, liver metastasis, number of cycles of first-line chemotherapy, and chest radiotherapy were risk factors influencing OS in patients with NECs (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: The survival of IPNECs was significantly longer than that of EPNECs in the gastrointestinal tract and other regions. Nevertheless, patients with advanced NECs who were older and had liver metastases had a poorer prognosis. Multidisciplinary treatments including multicycle chemotherapy and a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy should function significantly in extending the survival of NECs.