Small cell carcinoma in the palatal mucosa: A case report

Small cell carcinoma in the oral and maxillofacial region is an extremely rare, high-grade malignancy. We report a case of small cell carcinoma in the palatal mucosa. An 80-year-old man was referred to our clinic with swelling in the right maxilla. An 80-mm lymph node was seen in the right neck. The clinical diagnosis was malignant tumor of the palatal mucosa and biopsy was performed. The histopathological diagnosis was small cell carcinoma. Systemic examination diagnosed cervical lymph node metastasis, liver metastasis and multiple bone metastases. Considering the clinical stage and performance status, best supportive care was selected. The patient died of multiple-organ failure 3 months after the first visit.