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Primary small cell carcinoma of the endometrium is rare and has an extremely poor prognosis. This report describes two cases of small cell carcinoma of the endometrium diagnosed as stage III. Case 1 was diagnosed as stage IIIc. She underwent surgery and chemotherapy. For a locally recurrent tumor, she received radiotherapy. She has been well with no evidence of disease for 4 years. Case 2 was diagnosed as stage IIIa. She underwent surgery. The tumor recurred soon after the surgery, and she died 33 days after the surgery. In the literature, themedian survival reported for patients with stage III and IV is only 5 months. Case 1 is the 4th case showing long-term survival with advanced-stage disease. The optimal treatment for this rare tumor has not been established. Considering its rarity and variability, it is difficult to establish an evidence-based therapeutic regimen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective IL-8 and GRO-α have been demonstrated to be important modulators of neutrophil-chemotaxis in the inflammation-like mechanism of human ovulation. In this study, we investigated the possible effects of TGF-α and EGF on IL-8 and GRO-α secretion by granulosa cells Methods We used immortalized granulosa cells and granulosalutein cells with informed consents. Confluent cells were placed in serum-free media and treated with the above-mentioned growth factors for 8 hrs. IL-8 and GRO-α were measured in the culture media using an ELISA Results Treatment of immortalized granulosa cells with 10 nM of TGF-α and EGF produced higher levels of IL-8 than untreated cells by 8 hrs (241.8 ± 21.8, 261.4 ± 19.4 pg/ml; control = 125 ± 15 pg/ml; P < 0.0001). On the other hand, the same treatment produced slightly higher levels of GRO-α than untreated cells by 8 hrs. Treatment of granulosa-lutein cells with 1 nM of TGF-α and EGF produced higher levels of IL-8 than untreated cells by 8 h (980.1 ± 51.5, 1134.6 ± 76.2 pg/ml; control = 593.9 ± 30.2 pg/ml; P < 0.0001). Furthermore, the same treatment produced higher level of GRO-α than untreated cells after 8 h (P < 0.0005) Conclusion Given the significant effects of both TGF-α and EGF on IL-8 and GRO-α secretion by granulosa-lutein cells, our data suggest that TGF-α and EGF might play a role in the inflammatory mechanism of human ovulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]