title: Epithelioid leiomyosarcoma of the uterine cervix: a case report and review of the literature.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Epithelioid leiomyosarcomas arising from the uterine cervix are extremely rare neoplasms, with only three cases reported in the English literature.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 53-year-old Japanese woman was admitted to our university hospital due to massive vaginal bleeding from a cervical tumor. A total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy was performed. Histological findings, including immunohistochemical study using desmin, SMA, cytokeratin, S-100, HMB-45, vimentin, melan-A, and CD68, led to a diagnosis of epithelioid leiomyosarcoma of the uterine cervix. The patient underwent adjuvant chemotherapy and has been disease-free for over 20 months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Immunohistochemical studies may be needed to differentiate among the alternative diagnoses of malignant melanoma, metastatic carcinoma, and epithelioid sarcoma. Additional cases are needed to develop optimal management strategies and to predict prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba, Sendai 980-8574, Japan. m-toyo@mail.tains.tohoku.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masafumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Toyoshima
authors.forename: Chikako
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Okamura
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Niikura
authors.forename: Kiyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Nobuo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yaegashi
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007890:Leiomyosarcoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery