# Small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the cervix

Source: https://onco.cc/cancers/cervical-small-cell-neuroendocrine-carcinoma/  
OnCo record `cervical-small-cell-neuroendocrine-carcinoma` (Cancer). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the cervix is a rare, aggressive cervical cancer that behaves like small cell lung cancer, spreading early to nodes and distant organs even when the tumour is small. Fewer than four in ten women with early disease are alive at five years, and treatment combines the cervical cancer approach with the chemotherapy used for small cell lung cancer.

## Summary

The WHO classification of female genital tumours lists small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma among the neuroendocrine carcinomas of the cervix, HPV-associated in most cases (usually HPV18). The Gynecologic Cancer InterGroup consensus review describes it as a rare histological entity with a poor outcome because of the high incidence of nodal or distant metastasis even in early stage, and reviews epidemiology, pathology and initial treatment (GCIG 2014). In 188 patients (136 from the literature and 52 from four hospitals), 135 had stage I to IIA, 45 stage IIB to IVA and 8 stage IVB disease; 55.3 percent had surgery, 16.0 percent chemoradiation, 12.8 percent radiation and 3.2 percent chemotherapy alone; five-year disease-specific survival was 36.8 percent for stage I to IIA, 9.8 percent for IIB to IVA and 0 percent for IVB, and adjuvant chemotherapy or chemoradiation was associated with higher survival (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2010).

How it differs from its parent: it is the cervical cancer in which systemic chemotherapy is part of treatment at every stage, in which brain imaging and prophylaxis are considered, and in which surgery alone is never enough.

How common: no registry share in the sources read; rare.

Treatment: radical hysterectomy or chemoradiation according to stage, always with platinum and etoposide chemotherapy as for small cell lung cancer; checkpoint inhibitors with chemotherapy are used by analogy with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, following the extrapulmonary neuroendocrine carcinoma page (GCIG 2014; Am J Obstet Gynecol 2010).

## Fields

- Kind: Cancer
- Last checked: 2026-09-24
- Also known as: Small cell carcinoma of the cervix; Neuroendocrine carcinoma; Neuroendocrine carcinoma (rare; SCLC-like); Small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the cervix; SCCC
- Tags: subtype-page; wave4; rare
- Group: gynaecologic
- Burden: A rare histological entity of cervical cancer (GCIG 2014); the largest pooled analysis holds 188 patients, 135 with stage I to IIA disease (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2010). No registry share is in the sources read.
- Subtypes: Small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the cervix, early stage (surgery plus platinum-etoposide); Small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the cervix, locally advanced (chemoradiation plus platinum-etoposide); Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the cervix (related, treated the same); Mixed neuroendocrine and squamous or adenocarcinoma of the cervix
- Biomarkers: Synaptophysin, chromogranin and INSM1; HPV18 and p16; Node and distant staging including brain imaging; Ki-67 (very high)

## Sections of this record

The page is a hub with ten sections in reading order; large sections have their own page. The same plan as JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/cancers/cervical-small-cell-neuroendocrine-carcinoma/sections.json

- Overview (on the hub): The TL;DR, the family this cancer belongs to, the organ, who gets it and what the state of the art is. https://onco.cc/cancers/cervical-small-cell-neuroendocrine-carcinoma/#overview
- What it is (on the hub): Anatomy, the subtypes and how they differ, how it is staged, and where advanced disease spreads. https://onco.cc/cancers/cervical-small-cell-neuroendocrine-carcinoma/#what-it-is [4 subtypes]
- Finding it (on the hub): How it shows itself, how it is confirmed, what screening exists, and the biomarkers clinicians test for. https://onco.cc/cancers/cervical-small-cell-neuroendocrine-carcinoma/#finding-it [4 biomarkers]
- Treating it (on the hub): The standard of care by setting, the medicines, surgery and radiotherapy named in it, and the regimens behind them. https://onco.cc/cancers/cervical-small-cell-neuroendocrine-carcinoma/#treating-it [1 setting, 1 decision with options]
- Evidence (on the hub): Trials recruiting now, the landmark trials, the key papers and what they mean, the latest literature, and the milestones year by year. https://onco.cc/cancers/cervical-small-cell-neuroendocrine-carcinoma/#evidence
- The science (on the hub): The molecular landscape: the targets and how often each appears, the pathways, the mechanics stages and the preclinical models. https://onco.cc/cancers/cervical-small-cell-neuroendocrine-carcinoma/#science [2 targets]
- Where you are (own page): Cases by country, the UK and NHS pathway and other country lenses, and the expert centres with trials on record. https://onco.cc/cancers/cervical-small-cell-neuroendocrine-carcinoma/where-you-are/
- Living with it (on the hub): The decisions you may face, the aids that walk through them, the warnings on record, the first sixty days and the questions to ask. https://onco.cc/cancers/cervical-small-cell-neuroendocrine-carcinoma/#living-with-it [8 questions, 4 red cards]
- What is coming (own page): Everything in development, the open problems and what is being done about them, the roadmaps, and what changed on this record. https://onco.cc/cancers/cervical-small-cell-neuroendocrine-carcinoma/coming/ [3 medicines]
- Data (own page): Every connected record, the notes, the JSON, Markdown and RDF twins, and where the record came from and when it was checked. https://onco.cc/cancers/cervical-small-cell-neuroendocrine-carcinoma/data/ [16 connected records]

## Standard of care

- All stages: Surgery or chemoradiation by stage, always with platinum and etoposide as for small cell lung cancer; checkpoint inhibitors by analogy with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer. ([Cervical cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/cervical/), [Extrapulmonary neuroendocrine carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/extrapulmonary-nec/), [Cisplatin](https://onco.cc/drugs/cisplatin/), [Etoposide](https://onco.cc/drugs/etoposide/), [Atezolizumab](https://onco.cc/drugs/atezolizumab/), [Chemoradiation (chemoradiotherapy, CRT)](https://onco.cc/terms/chemoradiation/))

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cervical_cancer
- NCI PDQ: cervical cancer treatment: https://www.cancer.gov/types/cervical/treatment
- Am J Obstet Gynecol 2010: small cell carcinoma of the cervix, treatment and survival of 188 patients: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2010.04.019
- Int J Gynecol Cancer 2014: GCIG consensus review for small cell carcinoma of the cervix: https://doi.org/10.1097/igc.0000000000000262

## Connected records

- cancers: [Adenosquamous carcinoma of the cervix](https://onco.cc/cancers/cervical-adenosquamous-carcinoma/), [Cervical cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/cervical/), [Extrapulmonary neuroendocrine carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/extrapulmonary-nec/), [Recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/recurrent-metastatic-cervical-cancer/), [Small-cell lung cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/sclc/)
- drugs: [Atezolizumab](https://onco.cc/drugs/atezolizumab/), [Cisplatin](https://onco.cc/drugs/cisplatin/), [Etoposide](https://onco.cc/drugs/etoposide/)
- terms: [Chemoradiation (chemoradiotherapy, CRT)](https://onco.cc/terms/chemoradiation/), [HPV-positive (p16) head and neck cancer](https://onco.cc/terms/hpv-p16/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/cervical-small-cell-neuroendocrine-carcinoma.json