Table 1.
Review of literature describing cases of small cell NEC of the tonsil
| Literature | Case No. | Age (yrs)/sex | Initial symptom | Tumor site and size | Treatment | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Koss et al. 1972 [4] | 1 | 70/F | N.G. | Tonsil (5.0 cm) | RT | DOD 8 mos (MET) |
| 2 | 60/M | N.G. | Tonsil (occult) | RND + RT (primary and neck) | DOD 18 mos (Neck failure) | |
| 3 | 54/M | N.G. | Tonsil (3.5 cm) | Local excision + RND | DOD 1.5 yrs (MET: lung and liver) | |
| Abedi and Sismanis 1987 [7] | 4 | 67/F | Left neck mass (2 × 3 cm) | Left tonsil (N.G.) | RT + CT (for MET) | DOD 6 mos (MET) |
| Heimann et al. 1989 [8] | 5 | 78/N.G. | Left neck mass (5 × 3 × 3 cm) | Left tonsil (N.G.) | Left RND | Die of cardiac arrest 2 yrs after RND |
| Bawa and wax 1995 [9] | 6 | 53/M | Tonsil pain Odynophagia Left neck mass (5 cm in level II and 2 cm in level V) | Left tonsil (N.G.) | CT + RT (for neck REC) | DOD 15 mos (MET) |
| Weng et al. 2008 [10] | 7 | 53/M | Right neck mass (level II-VI) | Right tonsil (N.G.) | CT + RT | DOD 6 mos (MET: adrenal and bone) |
| Hatoum et al. 2009 [11] | 8 | 49/M | N.G. | Reported as T1N3 | CRT | DOD 2.5 yrs (MET) |
| 9 | 50/M | N.G. | Reported as T3N1 | CRT | Alive with NED >9 yrs | |
| 10 | 50/F | N.G. | Reported as T4N2b | CRT | Alive with NED >1.5 yrs | |
| Segawa et al. 2011 [13] | 11 | 65/M | Sore throat Left neck mass (N.G.) | Left tonsil (3.2 × 3.0 cm) | RT + CT | DOD 2 yrs (MET: liver) |
| Sehdev et al. 2012 [14] | 12 | 53/F | Right neck mass (3.5 × 2.8 cm in level II) | Right tonsil (N.G.) | CRT | Alive with NED >3 yrs |
Abbreviations: yrs: years; F: female; M: male; N.G.: not given; RT: radiotherapy; DOD: die of disease; mos: months; MET: metastases; RND: radical neck dissection; CT: chemotherapy; REC: recurrence; CRT: chemoradiotherapy; NED: no evidence of disease.