Case of a Sister Mary Joseph's Nodule in a High Grade Serous Carcinoma

Abstract

Sister Mary Joseph's nodule (SMJN) is a metastatic malignancy of the umbilicus usually indicative of advanced, metastatic disease. It is a rare occurrence, but it may be the first sign of abdominal cancer, most commonly an adenocarcinoma metastasis from a gastrointestinal or gynecologic primary malignancy. We present the case of an 82-year-old woman with an acute, 2 cm non-tender mass located at the umbilicus, diagnostic indication of an SMJN. Additional investigations included imaging via ultrasound and a pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) along with a biopsy and immunohistochemical staining in order to further characterize the mass. Our findings are discussed in the following case report.

Calcified Sister Mary Joseph nodule as the presenting complaint of advanced low-grade serous ovarian cancer

“…Umbilical masses could derive from benign and malignant etiologies. Benign umbilical nodules are called pseudo-SMJN and have been reported in nonmalignant lesions such as endometriosis, dermatofibroma, neurofibroma, papillomas, teratomas, myxoma, keloid, omphalolith, nevi, foreign body granulomas, and epidermoid cysts [1] . There has been a case report of abdominal tuberculosis with a pseudo-SMJN mimicking peritoneal carcinomatosis [2] .…”