A case report of synchronous primary cancers of the endometrium and ovaries

Abstract

Synchronous primary cancers of the endometrium and ovaries are rare. In many cases, it is difficult to differentiate between either two primary carcinomas or metastatic disease, even though this distinction is significant since the staging, further management and prognosis are completely different for these two diseases. We herein report a case which was diagnosed to be a synchronous primary cancer of the endometrium and ovaries with a review of the literature. The patient was 40s female who presented with the chief complaint of atypical genital bleeding. Endometrial cancer was diagnosed by an endometrial biopsy. An extended hysterectomy, a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and a pelvic lymphadenectomy were all performed, and a histopathological diagnosis revealed low grade endometrioid adenocarcinoma in both the endometrium and left ovary. We diagnosed the patient to have synchronous primary cancer of the endometrium and left ovary, according to the criteria of Ulbright and Ree. The postoperative course was uneventful. In this case, we did not use a molecular biological technique to diagnose a synchronous primary cancer. However, molecular analysis may be important and helpful in distinction between the two groups of synchronous tumors.[Adv Obstet Gynecol, 59(1) : 1-5, 2007 (H19.2)]