Authors: Mukherjee, U.¹; Thakur, V.²; Katiyar, D.³; Goyal, Hari⁴; Pendharkar, D.⁴

Source: Medical Oncology, Volume 23, Number 2, June 2006 , pp. 301-303(3)

Publisher: Humana Press

Abstract:

Uterine choriocarcinoma developing in patients beyond reproductive age is a rare occurrence. We report a case of choriocarcinoma of uterine corpus in a 54-yr-old woman after 7 yr of menopause and 25 yr after last child birth. She presented with pain in the abdomen, and on radiological investigation a left uterine adnexal mass of 3.4×2.8 cm size was detected. Her serum CA 125 level was 40 mIU/mL (normal up to 35 mIU/mL). Hysterectomy revealed an intramural growth in left uterine cornu measuring 3.5×3.0×2.5 cm. Histological features of the tumor were consistent with choriocarcinoma, and immunohistochemistry detected strong reactivity for β-hCG in the tumor cells. Serum β-hCG level 4 wk after surgery was 1345 mIU/mL. The patient was put on combination chemotheraphy (EMACO). She acheived serological remission but showed a rise in serum β-hCG level 4 wk after completion of chemotherapy. We conclude that a high level of suspicion may help in preoperative diagnosis of uterine choriocarcinoma in the postmenopausal age group. However, the response to chemotherapy in these cases may not be as encouraging as in choriocarcinoma of reproductive age.

Keywords: Uterus; choriocarcinoma; postmenopausal women; β-hCG

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1385/MO:23:2:301

Affiliations: 1: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Pathology Division (Room No. 274 Old Building), Batra Hospital and Medical Research Centre, 1. Tughlakabad Institutional Area, Badarpur Mehrauli Road, 110062, New Delhi, India, Email: tubu@vsnl.net 2: Biochemistry Division Department of Laboratory Medicine, Batra Hospital and Medical Research Centre, 110062, New Delhi, India, 3: Department of Surgical Oncology, Batra Hospital and Medical Research Centre, 110062, New Delhi, India, 4: Department of Medical Oncology, Batra Hospital and Medical Research Centre, 110062, New Delhi, India,

Publication date: 2006-06-01

Related content

• In this: publication
• By this: publisher
• In this Subject: Oncology
• By this author: Mukherjee, U. ;  Thakur, V. ;  Katiyar, D. ;  Goyal, Hari ;  Pendharkar, D.

Website © Publishing Technology. Article copyright remains with the publisher, society or author(s) as specified within the article.

• Terms and conditions
• Privacy policy
• Information for advertisers