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Gestational Ovarian Choriocarcinoma: A Review of the Literature and Presentation of a Perplexing Case

Received: 22 March 2019     Accepted: 28 April 2019     Published: 27 May 2019
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Abstract

Gestational trophoblastic tumors are a heterogeneous and aggressive group of neoplasms. Choriocarcinoma, an extremely rare subset of gestational trophoblastic tumor, is often metastatic at diagnosis and typically follows a pregnancy that is either ectopic or molar. We present a critical review of choriocarcinomas with an emphasis on choriocarcinomas of ovarian origin which are even more uncommon with an incidence estimated at 1 per 369 million. This manuscript also includes a case of a woman with polycystic ovarian syndrome who required assisted conception to conceive her daughter and then developed a rare extrauterine gestational ovarian choriocarcinoma eighteen months following her antecedent healthy pregnancy with uncomplicated delivery. Many aspects of this presentation are unique, even for such an extraordinary tumor; some of these include the absence of vaginal bleeding, the presence of unilateral pulmonary metastases, and an overwhelmingly positive serum β-hCG with a negative urine β-hCG. While such a discrepancy in urine and serum β-hCG has been reported in gestational trophoblastic disease following molar pregnancies, to our knowledge it has not yet been reported in choriocarcinomas following a normal pregnancy.

Published in International Journal of Clinical Oncology and Cancer Research (Volume 3, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijcocr.20180306.11
Page(s) 72-77
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2019. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Gestational Trophoblastic Disease, Ovarian Choriocarcinoma, Beta-Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, Pulmonary Metastases

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Emily Bryer DO, David Henry MD. (2019). Gestational Ovarian Choriocarcinoma: A Review of the Literature and Presentation of a Perplexing Case. International Journal of Clinical Oncology and Cancer Research, 3(6), 72-77. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijcocr.20180306.11

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    ACS Style

    Emily Bryer DO; David Henry MD. Gestational Ovarian Choriocarcinoma: A Review of the Literature and Presentation of a Perplexing Case. Int. J. Clin. Oncol. Cancer Res. 2019, 3(6), 72-77. doi: 10.11648/j.ijcocr.20180306.11

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    AMA Style

    Emily Bryer DO, David Henry MD. Gestational Ovarian Choriocarcinoma: A Review of the Literature and Presentation of a Perplexing Case. Int J Clin Oncol Cancer Res. 2019;3(6):72-77. doi: 10.11648/j.ijcocr.20180306.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijcocr.20180306.11,
      author = {Emily Bryer DO and David Henry MD},
      title = {Gestational Ovarian Choriocarcinoma: A Review of the Literature and Presentation of a Perplexing Case},
      journal = {International Journal of Clinical Oncology and Cancer Research},
      volume = {3},
      number = {6},
      pages = {72-77},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijcocr.20180306.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijcocr.20180306.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijcocr.20180306.11},
      abstract = {Gestational trophoblastic tumors are a heterogeneous and aggressive group of neoplasms. Choriocarcinoma, an extremely rare subset of gestational trophoblastic tumor, is often metastatic at diagnosis and typically follows a pregnancy that is either ectopic or molar. We present a critical review of choriocarcinomas with an emphasis on choriocarcinomas of ovarian origin which are even more uncommon with an incidence estimated at 1 per 369 million. This manuscript also includes a case of a woman with polycystic ovarian syndrome who required assisted conception to conceive her daughter and then developed a rare extrauterine gestational ovarian choriocarcinoma eighteen months following her antecedent healthy pregnancy with uncomplicated delivery. Many aspects of this presentation are unique, even for such an extraordinary tumor; some of these include the absence of vaginal bleeding, the presence of unilateral pulmonary metastases, and an overwhelmingly positive serum β-hCG with a negative urine β-hCG. While such a discrepancy in urine and serum β-hCG has been reported in gestational trophoblastic disease following molar pregnancies, to our knowledge it has not yet been reported in choriocarcinomas following a normal pregnancy.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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    T2  - International Journal of Clinical Oncology and Cancer Research
    JF  - International Journal of Clinical Oncology and Cancer Research
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    AB  - Gestational trophoblastic tumors are a heterogeneous and aggressive group of neoplasms. Choriocarcinoma, an extremely rare subset of gestational trophoblastic tumor, is often metastatic at diagnosis and typically follows a pregnancy that is either ectopic or molar. We present a critical review of choriocarcinomas with an emphasis on choriocarcinomas of ovarian origin which are even more uncommon with an incidence estimated at 1 per 369 million. This manuscript also includes a case of a woman with polycystic ovarian syndrome who required assisted conception to conceive her daughter and then developed a rare extrauterine gestational ovarian choriocarcinoma eighteen months following her antecedent healthy pregnancy with uncomplicated delivery. Many aspects of this presentation are unique, even for such an extraordinary tumor; some of these include the absence of vaginal bleeding, the presence of unilateral pulmonary metastases, and an overwhelmingly positive serum β-hCG with a negative urine β-hCG. While such a discrepancy in urine and serum β-hCG has been reported in gestational trophoblastic disease following molar pregnancies, to our knowledge it has not yet been reported in choriocarcinomas following a normal pregnancy.
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Author Information
  • Department of Internal Medicine, Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

  • Department of Hematology and Oncology, Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

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