Chonnam Med J.
2006 Aug;42(2):153-156.
A Case of Benign Metastasizing Leiomyoma of Lung
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Internal Medicine, Kwangju Christian Hospital, Gwangju, Korea. mdkyc@hanafos.com
- 2Department of Obstetric-Gynecology, Kwangju Christian Hospital, Gwangju, Korea.
- 3Department of Radiology, Kwangju Christian Hospital, Gwangju, Korea.
- 4Department of Anatomic Pathology, Kwangju Christian Hospital, Gwangju, Korea.
Abstract
- A 41-year-old woman was referred to us because of small pulmonary nodule on chest radiography. She had undergone total hysterectomy for uterine myoma in 1997. We detected multiple pulmonary nodules in both lung fields on chest CT scan, and performed CT-guided percutaneous needle biopsy under presumptive diagnosis of metastatic cancer. Pathologically, the specimen consisted of benign spindle cells of smooth muscle, allowing the diagnosis of pulmonary metastasis of leiomyoma. Benign metastasizing leiomyoma is a rare disease, predominantly affecting middle-aged women after hysterectomy for uterine myoma, consisting of histologically benign smooth muscle cells which originated from uterine leiomyoma. But, these tumors can metastasize and turn out to be clinically malignant. The pathogenesis remains unclear, but hormone-dependent tumor growth has been discussed as a possible mechanism. Hormone ablation therapy is the treatment of choice to achieve remission and prevention of recurrence.
