Management of a rare and aggressive primary ovarian large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma with multiple metastases using sunitinib: A case report

Ovarian neuroendocrine tumors (oNETs) are a rare and aggressive subtype of epithelial ovarian cancer with poor long-term survival. They rarely occur at all sites in the female genital system accounting for about 2% of all gynecologic malignancies.

We report the case of a 70-year-old multiporous woman who presented with a 13-cm abdominopelvic mass with peritoneal, hepatic, and bone metastasis. A lump in her left breast was also found during a physical examination. She underwent an exploratory laparotomy whereby the pelvic mass was resected and a trucut biopsy of the breast lesion. A stage IVb non-small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma diagnosis was rendered after pathological and immunohistochemistry (IHC) examination. She was subsequently treated with sunitinib and hormonotherapy for her stage I breast ductal carcinoma. She died within 6 months of her adjuvant chemotherapy. 

This is a report of a rare and aggressive primary ovarian large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma. In the majority of presentations, the tumor is metastatic with a poor prognosis.