Case Report: 18F-FDG PET/CT and Laparoscopic Nephron Sparing Surgery in the Management of Bleeding From Renal Metastases of Choriocarcinoma

Front Oncol. 2022 Apr 14:12:829190. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.829190. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Choriocarcinoma is a cancer that usually occurs in the uterus during pregnancy. Although choriocarcinoma with renal metastasis and spontaneous renal hemorrhage is very rare, it can occur. We describe a rare case of metastatic choriocarcinoma, wherein the patient presented with acute abdominal pain due to a subcapsular hematoma secondary to a bleeding renal metastasis. We performed a laparoscopic nephron sparing surgery to remove the tumor and control the bleeding. A retrospective analysis revealed that metastasis was detected on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT, but not on CT alone. To our knowledge, a case of choriocarcinoma with such symptoms and treatment has not been described in recent literature. Our case illustrates that acute bleeding from a renal metastasis can be effectively managed by laparoscopic nephron sparing surgery. It also demonstrates the advantage 18F-FDG PET/CT may have in the evaluation of metastatic choriocarcinoma.

Keywords: PET/CT; choriocarcinoma; laparoscopic nephron sparing surgery; renal metastasis; spontaneous renal hemorrhage.

Publication types

  • Case Reports