title: Pulmonary benign metastasizing leiomyoma from uterine leiomyoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Benign metastasizing leiomyoma (BML) occurs in a low proportion of uterine leiomyomas and treatment methods for BML are diverse and controversial. The study introduces preliminary experiences in the diagnosis and treatment of BML with the purpose of finding a suitable management strategy for these patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three patients with BML were treated in our department from April 2008 to July 2012. Each of these patients presented with multiple nodules in both lungs, where we performed video-assisted thoracoscopic wedge resection to harvest enough tissue for histopathologic and immunohistochemical examination. The patients were treated with medical castration or surgical castration after the diagnosis of BML.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The ultimate pathologic results ruled out the possibility of leiomyosarcoma and other metastatic diseases, and confirmed that the pulmonary lesions were BML. The lung lesions remained stable in two patients who were treated by surgical castration, and the lung nodules regressed in one patient treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The diagnosis of BML is based on the medical history of uterine myomas and histopathologic and immunohistochemical examination of lung nodules. Video-assisted thoracoscopic wedge resection is the best way to harvest tissue for diagnosis. The better outcomes in BML seem to call for medical intervention, either chemical or surgical, after diagnosis is made.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, 270 Dong'an Road, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Sufeng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yawei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Yufan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Jianhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Haiquan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007889:Leiomyoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D011379:Prognosis; D020775:Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor