URETERAL ENDOMETRIOSIS IN ESTROGEN-TREATED POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMAN

Abstract

56-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital due to gross hematuria. Cystoscopy and contrast-enhanced abdominal CT scan revealed a solid tumor at the right terminal ureter. She underwent transurethral resection of the right ureteral tumor. The ureteral tumor included proliferative endometrial stroma and glands under urothelial cells, and the histopathological diagnosis was ectopic endometriosis.
Before the surgery, the patient had underwent hormone replacement therapy using estrogen patches to treat menopausal disorders, however, the dose of estrogen was five times higher than regular dose. Therefore, in this case, the serum level of estrogen was elevated over the normal value.
Ectopic endometriosis is rare in urinary tract especially ureter. Furthermore, endometriosis is an uncommon disease in women during postmenopausal period. Our case suggests that an excessive hormone replacement therapy might cause endometriosis in postmenopausal women.