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Ovarian hilus-cell hyperplasia and high serum testosterone in a patient with postmenopausal virilization
Tuncay Delibasi1, Murat F Erdogan, Ebru Serinsöz
1The Department of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
Objective:
To describe a woman with postmenopausal virilization and hirsutism caused by hilus-cell hyperplasia.
Methods:
We present a case report including laboratory, radiographic, and pathologic findings in a patient with postmenopausal hirsutism and virilization caused by ovarian hilus-cell hyperplasia as well as a brief review of the literature.
Results:
A 60-year-old postmenopausal woman presented with extensive hirsutism, male-pattern hair loss, and clitoromegaly. The patient's plasma testosterone levels were very high, but computed tomography showed the adrenal glands to be normal in size. Pelvic ultrasonography revealed a cystic lesion in the left ovary. After bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, histologic examination demonstrated a diffuse pattern of hilus-cell hyperplasia in the ovarian hilum.
Conclusion:
In the differential diagnosis of postmenopausal virilization, hilus-cell hyperplasia, although rare, should be considered.
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