Misdiagnosis of Small Cell Prostate Cancer: Lessons Learned

Abstract

Small cell carcinoma (SCC) of the prostate is rare in the spectrum of prostate tumors. Clinically, prostate SCC is more aggressive and has a poorer prognosis when compared to prostate acinar adenocarcinoma. Delay in diagnosis and misdiagnosis further worsens the outcome of this disease. Here we present a 68-year-old man whose prostate SCC was initially misdiagnosed with benign prostate hypertrophy (BPH) by his primary care physician (PCP) and urologist and small cell lung cancer by his first oncologist and pathologist. This case underscores the diagnostic conundrum of prostate SCC and the importance of exercising caution against the possibility of uncommon prostate cancer misdiagnosis in clinical practice.