Choriocarcinoma in a postmenopausal woman.

Abstract

Choriocarcinoma typically occurs within 12 months of pregnancy but rarely may present many years after an antecedent pregnancy. This report describes choriocarcinoma in a postmenopausal woman. A 62-year-old woman presented with dyspnea, a history of postmenopausal vaginal spotting, and metastatic disease on chest X-ray. A transvaginal ultrasonogram revealed a thickened endometrium. Endometrial biopsy and an elevated beta-hCG confirmed the diagnosis of metastatic choriocarcinoma. Multiagent chemotherapy was initiated, and the patient developed fatal toxic epidermal necrolysis. This case reminds practitioners that choriocarcinoma can occur in postmenopausal women, and although cure rates are high, deaths occasionally occur because of toxicity associated with treatment.