Background
Serous endometrial intraepithelial carcinoma (SEIC) is now considered to represent an early stage of uterine serous carcinoma (USC). It is an intraepithelial lesion but has been reported to cause extrauterine metastases. We report a case of SEIC with serous ovarian carcinoma and lymph node metastasis.
Case presentation
A 57-year-old post-menopausal woman (gravida 3, para 2, SA1) was referred to our hospital with lower abdominal pain. An ultrasound and MRI showed that the ovary had swollen to 8 cm in size and had a solid lesion. The uterus was normal. The patient underwent exploratory laparoscopy on the suspicion of torsion of the ovarian tumor. Intraoperative findings showed a right ovarian tumor, but no ovarian tumor torsion was observed. A small amount of bloody ascites was found in the Douglas fossa, and bleeding was observed from the tumor itself. A right salpingo-oophorectomy was then performed. Histopathological results revealed a high-grade serous carcinoma. Forty days after the first surgery, we performed a staging laparotomy: a total abdominal hysterectomy, left salpingo-oophorectomy, systematic pelvic and paraaortic lymphadenectomy, and a partial omentectomy. A complete cytoreduction was achieved. In the pathological examination, the invasion of the serous carcinoma was observed in the left ovarian ligament, and lymph node metastasis was found in the paraaortic lymph nodes. Atypical columnar cells formed irregular papillary lesions which had proliferated in the endometrium, and this was diagnosed as SEIC. The final diagnosis was serous ovarian cancer, FIGO stage IIIA1(ii), pT2bN1M0, with SEIC.
Conclusion
We report a case of SEIC with synchronous serous carcinoma of the adnexa uteri. Both were serous carcinomas and, thus, it was difficult to identify the primary lesion. The distinction between metastatic cancer and two independent primary tumors is important for an accurate diagnosis and tumor staging. Histological diagnostic criteria remain controversial, and further development of a method for differentiating between both diseases is required.
Primary peritoneal carcinosarcomas which arise from extragenital locations are extremely rare. Carinosarcomas contain both carcinomatous and sarcomatous elements and can be mainly detected in the female genital tract. We herein report a case of primary peritoneal carcinosarcoma diagnosed by laparoscopic surgery and treated with olaparib. A 62-year-old woman referred to our hospital due to abdominal distension. From imaging findings, we suspected advanced primary peritoneal carcinoma, and laparoscopic surgery was thereafter performed. The pathological diagnosis was carcinosarcoma, and the patient received chemotherapy with docetaxel and carboplatin. After three cycles of chemotherapy, the interval debulking surgery was attempted but resulted in suboptimal results. Because the bilateral ovaries were observed with a normal size and normal findings, we considered that the most likely diagnosis was primary peritoneal carcinosarcoma. After the additional chemotherapy and a 6-month observation period, the tumor relapsed. The patient received chemotherapy again, and the peritoneal carcinosarcoma was judged to be a platinum-sensitive tumor. Oral administration of olaparib was thus initiated. Although a dose reduction was needed due to anemia, olaparib was effective, and the patient could continue the drug for another 7 months. This is the first report of primary peritoneal carcinosarcoma treated with olaparib and shows that it could be a treatment option for platinum-sensitive tumors.
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