OBJECTIVETo analyze the clinical data and prognosis of gastric small cell carcinoma (GSCC), summarize recent progress in diagnosis and therapy of this disease reported in the literature, and to provide the theoretical basis for its appropriate treatment.

METHODSClinicopathological data of 17 patients with pathologically confirmed GSCC, treated in our hospital between 1999 to 2012, were retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTSThere were 16 males and 1 female, ranged from 46 to 75 years (mean 64.6 years). The tumor was located in the gastric cardia in 13 cases, three in the gastric fundus, and one in the gastric body. All the 17 patients received surgery and 10 of them received postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy, one received preoperative adjuvant chemotherapy. Thirteen patients were followed up. Among them, two 1ived for 40 months all along, the other 3 cases died of recurrence and extensive metastasis in 6 month after operation. The median survival was 13.0 months. The median survival of the patients with and without lymph node metastasis were 42 months and 13 months, respectively. The median survival time of stage II and III patients were 24 months and 14 months, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSIt is difficult to make a definite diagnosis before or during the operation for GSCC. Radical operation could be done according to other gastric cancers and lymph node dissection could be simplified. Postoperative chemotherapy with the same scheme as lung small cell carcinoma may help to improve the outcome and prolong the survival of the patients.