title: Uterine choriocarcinoma in a postmenopausal woman.
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 x 2.8 cm size was detected. Her serum CA125 level was 40 mIU/mL (normal up to 35 mIU/mL). Hysterectomy revealed an intramural growth in left uterine cornu measuring 3.5 x 3.0 x 2.5 cm. Histological features of the tumor were consistent with choriocarcinoma, and immunohistochemistry detected strong reactivity for beta-hCG in the tumor cells. Serum beta-hCG level 4 wk after surgery was 1345 mIU/mL. The patient was put on combination chemotherapy (EMACO). She achieved serological remission but showed a rise in serum beta-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.
authors.affiliation: Pathology Division, Batra Hospital and Medical Research Centre, New Delhi 110062, India. tubul@vsnl.net
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Mukherjee
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Thakur
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Katiyar
authors.forename: Hari K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Goyal
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pendharkar
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D018394:CA-125 Antigen / Q000097:blood; D002822:Choriocarcinoma / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D018997:Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human / Q000378:metabolism; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy / Q000379:methods; D003609:Dactinomycin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005047:Etoposide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D002955:Leucovorin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008727:Methotrexate / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000378:metabolism; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D014750:Vincristine / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D018394:CA-125 Antigen; D018997:Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human; D003609:Dactinomycin; D014750:Vincristine; D005047:Etoposide; D004317:Doxorubicin; D002955:Leucovorin; D008727:Methotrexate