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CASE REPORT article

Front. Urol.
Sec. Urologic Oncology
Volume 5 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fruro.2025.1440538
This article is part of the Research Topic Women in Urology: 2024 View all articles

Primary large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of urethra: A case report

Provisionally accepted
Jianbai Chen Jianbai Chen 1Xiaorong Mou Xiaorong Mou 2*Zhiming Zhang Zhiming Zhang 3Zhiyong Nie Zhiyong Nie 3*Jianxin Qiu Jianxin Qiu 3*
  • 1 Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, China
  • 2 Department of Pathology, Tangdu Hospital, Xi'an, China
  • 3 Department of Urology, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Primary neuroendocrine carcinoma of urethra is a very uncommon malignant tumor, and no reports have been made about large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) in the past.Case description: A 43-year-old nonsmoking female patient presented with symptoms of dysuria and urination-related pain at TangDu Hospital in April 2022. A biopsy subsequently confirmed the diagnosis of primary urethral LCNEC. Following radical resection, the patient exhibited abnormal lymph node enlargement in the first month and pelvic metastases in the fourth month. Ultimately, the patient succumbed to the disease 486 days after the radical resection, attributed to widespread tumor metastases and concurrent multi-organ failure. The final pathological examination confirmed the presence of a high-grade LCNEC.The occurrence of primary LCNEC in the urethra is exceptionally uncommon. This particular instance was notable for its aggressive progression and unfavorable prognosis.Historically, there have been no prior documented instances of primary pure LCNEC in the urethra. It is imperative to emphasize that early identification and intervention for LCNEC could potentially offer patients a more favorable survival outcome.1. This is the first case of primary pure LCNEC of urethra.2. The LCNEC are aggressive and can occur in young non-smoking patients within the urogenital tract.3. The comprehensive treatment protocol and prognostic outlook for patients are described, providing a reference for the treatment of future urethral LCNEC patients.

    Keywords: Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma, urethra carcinoma, case report, prognosis, radical cystectomy (RC)

    Received: 29 May 2024; Accepted: 07 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Mou, Zhang, Nie and Qiu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Xiaorong Mou, Department of Pathology, Tangdu Hospital, Xi'an, China
    Zhiyong Nie, Department of Urology, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
    Jianxin Qiu, Department of Urology, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China

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