Short Tandem Repeats Define a Gestational Origin for Metastatic Choriocarcinoma

Ann Thorac Surg. 2019 Aug;108(2):e115-e117. doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2018.12.038. Epub 2019 Jan 24.

Abstract

This report presents the case of an apparently healthy female patient with a history of placenta accreta who was transferred from an outside hospital with the chief complaint of shortness of breath and a large spontaneous hemothorax requiring surgical exploration. Resection of a large, bleeding lower lobe mass identified metastatic gestational choriocarcinoma, a previously unreported cause of spontaneous hemothorax and an equally rare consequence of placenta accreta. The identification of novel genomic features associated with gestational choriocarcinoma allowed for confirmation of this subtype, which has clinical implications for surveillance and prognosis after treatment with adjuvant therapy.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Biomarkers, Tumor / analysis
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / genetics*
  • Choriocarcinoma / diagnosis*
  • Choriocarcinoma / secondary
  • Choriocarcinoma / surgery
  • DNA, Neoplasm / analysis*
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Lung Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Lung Neoplasms / secondary
  • Lung Neoplasms / surgery
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Microsatellite Repeats
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasm Metastasis
  • Pneumonectomy / methods
  • Positron-Emission Tomography
  • Prognosis
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed
  • Uterine Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Uterine Neoplasms / surgery

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • DNA, Neoplasm