Gestational choriocarcinoma after term pregnancy: a case report

Choriocarcinoma coexisting with or after a "normal" pregnancy has an incidence of one per 160 000 pregnancies. In case of choriocarcinoma after term pregnancy, early diagnosis by histopathological examination of the placenta is very important, the precocity of the diagnosis influencing the prognosis and tumor response to chemotherapy. In this paper, we report the case of a 29-year-old woman gravidity 2, parity 2, with metastatic choriocarcinoma after term pregnancy, diagnosed at four months after the delivery of a healthy baby. An episode of abundant vaginal bleeding occurred after four months from delivery. The local exam revealed a vaginal tumor whose pathological examination on biopsy samples was inconclusive. Subsequently, she was admitted in our clinic with abundant vaginal bleeding, severe anemia and fever. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed an intracavitary uterine tumoral mass with signs of myometrial invasion to the uterine serosa, strong Doppler signal and moderate ascites. Pulmonary X-ray and computed tomography scan excluded extrapelvic tumoral masses. The pretreatment human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) level was 31 030 IU÷mL and her FIGO risk factor score was 8 (high-risk group). Total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and omentectomy was performed as an optimal cytoreduction. Postoperative remaining lesions were represented by the metastasis located in the lower two-thirds of the vagina. Histopathological examination revealed uterine choriocarcinoma with ovarian metastasis. Postoperative was initiated four courses of polychemotherapy. Case evolution was favorable, with the normalization of the βHCG value in two months postoperative and complete remission of the vaginal metastasis in six weeks postoperative.