TY - JOUR
T1 - Malignant Struma Ovarii with Concurrent Thyroid Cancer
T2 - Outcomes during and after Pregnancy
AU - Donato, Sara
AU - Simões, Helder
AU - Leite, Valeriano
PY - 2021/11
Y1 - 2021/11
N2 - Introduction: Struma ovarii (SO) is a rare ovarian teratoma characterized by the presence of thyroid tissue in more than 50% of the tumor. Malignant transformation is rare and the most common associated malignancy is papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Pregnancy may represent a stimulus to differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) growth in patients with known structural or biochemical evidence of disease, but data about malignant SO evolution during pregnancy are rare. We present the first reported case of a pregnant patient with malignant SO and biochemical evidence of disease. Case Presentation: A previously healthy 35-year-old female diagnosed with a suspicious left pelvic mass on routine ultrasound was submitted to laparoscopic oophorectomy which revealed a malignant SO with areas of PTC. A 15-mm thyroid nodule (Bethesda V in the fine-needle aspiration cytology) was detected by palpation and total thyroidectomy was performed. Histology revealed a 15 mm follicular variant of PTC (T1bNxMx). Subsequently, she received 100 mCi of radioactive iodine therapy (RAIT) with the whole-body scan showing only moderate neck uptake. Her suppressed thyroglobulin (Tg) before RAI was 1.1 ng/mL. She maintained biochemical evidence of disease, with serum Tg levels of 7.6 ng/mL. She got pregnant 14 months after RAIT, and during pregnancy, Tg increased to 21.5 ng/mL. After delivery,Tg decreased to 14 ng/mL but, 6 months later, rose again and reached 31.9 ng/mL on the last follow-up visit. TSH was always suppressed during follow-up. At the time of SO diagnosis, a chest computedtomography scan showed 4 bilateral lung micronodules in the upper lobes which were nonspecific, and9 months after diagnosis, a pelvic MRI revealed a suspicious cystic nodule located on the oophorectomy bed. These lung and pelvic nodules remained stable during follow-up. Neck ultrasonography, abdominal MRI, and fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography showed no suspicious lesions. Discussion/Conclusion: As for DTC, pregnancy seems to represent a stimulus to malignant SO growth. This can be caused by the high levels of estrogen during pregnancy that may bind to receptors in malignant cells and/or by the high levels of hCG which is known to stimulate TSH receptors.
AB - Introduction: Struma ovarii (SO) is a rare ovarian teratoma characterized by the presence of thyroid tissue in more than 50% of the tumor. Malignant transformation is rare and the most common associated malignancy is papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Pregnancy may represent a stimulus to differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) growth in patients with known structural or biochemical evidence of disease, but data about malignant SO evolution during pregnancy are rare. We present the first reported case of a pregnant patient with malignant SO and biochemical evidence of disease. Case Presentation: A previously healthy 35-year-old female diagnosed with a suspicious left pelvic mass on routine ultrasound was submitted to laparoscopic oophorectomy which revealed a malignant SO with areas of PTC. A 15-mm thyroid nodule (Bethesda V in the fine-needle aspiration cytology) was detected by palpation and total thyroidectomy was performed. Histology revealed a 15 mm follicular variant of PTC (T1bNxMx). Subsequently, she received 100 mCi of radioactive iodine therapy (RAIT) with the whole-body scan showing only moderate neck uptake. Her suppressed thyroglobulin (Tg) before RAI was 1.1 ng/mL. She maintained biochemical evidence of disease, with serum Tg levels of 7.6 ng/mL. She got pregnant 14 months after RAIT, and during pregnancy, Tg increased to 21.5 ng/mL. After delivery,Tg decreased to 14 ng/mL but, 6 months later, rose again and reached 31.9 ng/mL on the last follow-up visit. TSH was always suppressed during follow-up. At the time of SO diagnosis, a chest computedtomography scan showed 4 bilateral lung micronodules in the upper lobes which were nonspecific, and9 months after diagnosis, a pelvic MRI revealed a suspicious cystic nodule located on the oophorectomy bed. These lung and pelvic nodules remained stable during follow-up. Neck ultrasonography, abdominal MRI, and fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography showed no suspicious lesions. Discussion/Conclusion: As for DTC, pregnancy seems to represent a stimulus to malignant SO growth. This can be caused by the high levels of estrogen during pregnancy that may bind to receptors in malignant cells and/or by the high levels of hCG which is known to stimulate TSH receptors.
KW - Pregnancy
KW - Struma ovarii
KW - Thyroid cancer
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85100304090&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1159/000512735
DO - 10.1159/000512735
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85100304090
VL - 10
SP - 523
EP - 527
JO - Thyroid
JF - Thyroid
SN - 1050-7256
IS - 6
ER -