Perimenopausal ovarian carcinoma patient with subclavian node metastasis proven by immunohistochemistry.
Ovarian cancer is the seventh most common cancer in the world and the fifth most common cause of death from cancer; it is responsible for over half of all deaths related to gynecological cancers. The presence of lymphatic metastasis is an important prognostic factor in ovarian cancer. Nodal metastases to the pelvic and the para-aortic lymph nodes are common, particularly in an advanced of the disease (stages III-IV). The finding of distant nodal metastasis, especially subclavian lymph node metastasis, from ovarian carcinoma is very uncommon. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) or FDG-PET/computed tomography (CT) provides an improved imaging for detecting metastatic lymph nodes in patients with ovarian cancer. Immunohistochemically, ovarian carcinoma cells are positive for estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, cancer antigen 125, Wilms' tumor 1 protein, and p53; they are negative for thyroid transcription factor (TTF-1) and caudal-related homeobox 2 (CDX-2). This report describes a Korean woman diagnosed with ovarian cancer with subclavian lymph node metastasis revealed by FDG PET/CT and verified by an immunohistochemical staining. Differentiating between the primary ovarian lesion and the metastatic lesion will allow the initiation of an appropriate treatment and help predict the prognosis.
Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Changwon, Korea.
Hee Jeong
HJ
Jeong
Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Changwon, Korea.
Hyun Joo
HJ
Kim
Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Pathology, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Changwon, Korea.
Eun Hee
EH
Lee
Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Pathology, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Changwon, Korea.
Hyoun Wook
HW
Lee
Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Changwon, Korea.
Min Kyu
MK
Kim
Lymphatic metastasis; Ovary cancer