title: Primary retroperitoneal choriocarcinoma with pulmonary metastases in an elderly man.
abstract: We describe a 56-year old male smoker who presented with bilateral gynaecomastia and a large shadow in the upper zone of the right lung. Lobectomy revealed a haemorrhagic tumour at the apex of the right upper lobe. Histology revealed pure choriocarcinoma. Further investigations revealed normal testes and a retroperitoneal mass. Apart from histology, the other poor prognostic factors in this patient were the extragonadal site, gynaecomastia and age. Complete remission was achieved with an aggressive 5-day chemotherapy regime. Primary retroperitoneal choriocarcinoma is extremely rare and is predominantly seen in the age group between 20-30 years.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Royal Infirmary, Glasgow.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Raina
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Dunlop
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soukop
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002822:Choriocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000556:secondary; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000556:secondary*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012074:Remission Induction; D012186:Retroperitoneal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed