title: Adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix with choriocarcinomatous metastasis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nongestational choriocarcinoma, in very rare instances, has been described as a component of other malignancies with a tendency for a very poor prognosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 55 year old woman was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the cervix, and incompletely treated with only external beam radiation. Adjuvant radical hysterectomy demonstrated no residual tumor, but the patient developed a tumor metastasis mimicking a pulmonary artery thrombus which by histology and immunohistochemistry was pure choriocarcinoma. While chemotherapy was successful in achieving a complete remission, the patient succumbed to complications of her pulmonary metastasis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Choriocarcinomatous dedifferentiation of cervical adenocarcinoma is extremely rare, with only one other case reported in the literature. While the prognosis for patients with such a tumor is generally poor, aggressive combination chemotherapy may be of benefit in some.
authors.affiliation: The Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Suite 160 W, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA. pavelkaj@cshs.org
authors.forename: James C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Pavelka
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Bryant
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vaccarello
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy; D002822:Choriocarcinoma / Q000556:secondary*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary*