Metastasising leiomyoma of the uterus with pulmonary involvement - case report

Adv Respir Med. 2017;85(4):211-215. doi: 10.5603/ARM.2017.0035.

Abstract

Benign metastasising leiomyoma (BML) is characterised by extrauterine smooth muscle tumours in women after surgical treatment for uterine leiomyoma. Usually manifested as solitary or multiple focal lesions in various organs, it imposes a scrutinous diagnostic work-up to exclude a malignant disease and requires confirmation in microscopic examination of the extrauterine focus. The authors present a case of a 56-year-old woman with BML manifesting as bilateral multiple pulmonary nodules, with a tentative diagnosis of a disseminated malignant disease of mesenchymal origin. The patient underwent multiple diagnostic tests, which excluded malignancy. The definite diagnosis was established after the microscopic reevaluation of an excised pulmonary nodule. The patient is monitored with chest magnetic resonance. BML should be considered in the differential diagnosis of multiple pulmonary nodules in asymptomatic women. Patients with BML require long-term monitoring, therefore the selected imaging method should not carry the risk of cumulative side effects.

Keywords: computed tomography; magnetic resonance; pulmonary nodules; uterine myoma.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Leiomyoma / pathology*
  • Lung Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Middle Aged
  • Multiple Pulmonary Nodules / diagnostic imaging*
  • Multiple Pulmonary Nodules / pathology
  • Multiple Pulmonary Nodules / secondary*
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed
  • Uterine Neoplasms / pathology*