Choriocarcinoma of the cervix

Identification and treatment of primary cervical gestational trophoblastic neoplasia: a retrospective study of 13 patients and literature review

Background

Primary cervical gestational trophoblastic neoplasias (GTNs) are extremely rare ectopic GTNs. Such lesions are difficult to diagnose clinically because of their rarity, with abnormal vaginal bleeding of a non-specific cause being the most common symptom. To that end, this retrospective study aimed to identify the clinical characteristics of cervical GTN and to explore diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

Results

Thirteen patients diagnosed with primary cervical GTN at the Department of Gynecology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China, between June 1, 1988 and May 31, 2020 were included in the study. All patients had irregular vaginal bleeding, including six who presented with massive bleeding. Seven patients (53.8%) were initially misdiagnosed with a cervical pregnancy. All patients received chemotherapy; 11 (84.6%) also underwent hysterectomy because of chemoresistant lesions or uncontrolled bleeding. All patients achieved complete remission; however, two women (15.4%) experienced a relapse during the median follow-up period of 35 months. A comprehensive review of English-language literature published between 1980 and 2020 identified 22 case reports encompassing 27 patients. The definitive diagnosis was achieved via pathology in 26 of them (96.3%), and hysterectomy was performed in 21 (77.8%).

Conclusions

Owing to its rarity and nonspecific symptoms, the diagnosis of primary cervical GTN is challenging and often relies on pathology. The combination of chemotherapy and hysterectomy is the main therapeutic strategy for this disease.

Caesarean scar choriocarcinoma: a case report and review of the literature

OBJECTIVE

To report the clinical characteristics, pathologic findings and treatments of a patient with a Caesarean scar choriocarcinoma.

PATIENT HISTORY

A 22-year-old woman had a diagnosis of primary gestational choriocarcinoma in a uterine Caesarean scar misdiagnosed as a normal Caesarean scar pregnancy. The patient underwent selective uterine artery embolization coupled with methotrexate arterial injection, along with dilatation and curettage of the uterine Caesarean scar. Finally, she received eight courses of multiagent chemotherapy. The reproductive function of the patient was preserved.

CONCLUSIONS

Primary gestational choriocarcinoma out of the uterine corpus is a rare disease. A Caesarean scar choriocarcinoma is an extremely unusual example of this entity because of its unique position. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of this phenomenon. Our experience and a literature review suggest that a clinical diagnosis of a primary gestational choriocarcinoma of the uterine Caesarean scar is difficult to make, and uterine artery embolization is beneficial to prevent massive bleeding before curettage.

Primary gestational choriocarcinoma of the uterine cervix. Report of a case and review of the literature

Gestational choriocarcinoma usually arises in the uterine cavity and is associated with coincident or antecedent pregnancy. Extrauterine choriocarcinomas are very rare entities, and most of these are located in the uterine cervix. In our case, a 43-year-old woman was admitted in our hospital because she had amenorrhea for 2 months and elevated serum beta-human chorionic gonadotropin levels. The patient was considered to have an ectopic pregnancy. Initially, she was treated with methotrexate, but since there was a continuous rise in human chorionic gonadotropin levels, the patient underwent a laparoscopy, along with dilatation and curettage (D&C) of the uterine cavity. Histopathologic findings, including immunohistochemical study, led to the diagnosis of choriocarcinoma of the cervix. Finally, the patient underwent a transabdominal hysterectomy and received single agent chemotherapy with methotrexate. Our case represents a primary choriocarcinoma of the cervix, which was initially misdiagnosed as an ectopic pregnancy. The difficulties in differential diagnosis are discussed. Immunohistochemical evaluation remains the mainstay of the diagnosis in most cases. Choriocarcinoma has a very good prognosis even in advanced stages, since it is a very chemosensitive tumor.