Predominant Brenner Tumor Combined with Struma Ovarii Containing a Papillary Microcarcinoma Associated with Benign Peritoneal Strumosis: Report of a Case and Histologic Features

Brenner tumor and struma ovarii, two uncommon ovarian tumors arising alone or together with dermoid cysts or adenomas, are both rare entities. Both tumors rarely become malignant and rarely metastasize. Few published reports describe coexisting Brenner tumor and malignant struma ovarii. Patients in whom these malignancies coexist only occasionally have peritoneal spreading, strumosis, or a history of thyrotoxicosis. The patient we describe, a 74-year-old woman, presented with a 2 months’ history of lower abdominal pain and episodic intestinal subocclusion due to a complex pelvic mass. The mass consisted predominantly of a Brenner tumor associated with struma ovarii containing a single small island of thyroid tissue that had undergone malignant transformation into a well-differentiated papillary carcinoma and also normal thyroid tissue that had spread to the peritoneum. The patient underwent radical surgical treatment and after 7 years follow-up is disease free.     

BRAF T1799A mutation occurring in a case of malignant struma ovarii

Struma ovarii is an extremely rare tumor that occasionally undergoes malignant transformation. Because struma ovarii is composed of thyroid tissue, it is conceivable that the pathogenetic events involved in thyroid follicular transformation may take place also in struma ovarii. The authors describe a case of a classical variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma arising in a struma ovarii of a 22-year-old female. The tumor was heterozygous for BRAF T1799A mutation. No ret/ PTC-1 or ret/PTC-3 rearrangements were detected. This finding would suggest that malignant struma ovarii is similar histologically and genetically to primary papillary thyroid carcinoma.     

Unilateral malignant struma ovarii in a case of bilateral ovarian teratoma with raised CA-125 level: a rare case with treatment dilemmas

Struma ovarii are specialized form of mature ovarian teratoma comprised predominantly of thyroid tissue (>50%). Most of the struma ovarii are benign; rarely can they undergo malignant transformation. Elevated CA-125 levels with benign struma ovarii have been seen in only 5 cases in literature. The association of malignant struma ovarii and high CA-125 levels with pseudo-Meig syndrome has been reported in only 2 cases in English literature. We describe a case of a 46-year-old multigravida who presented with an abdominal mass and raised CA-125 levels. Radiological investigations revealed bilateral cystic adnexal masses with ossified elements on left side suggesting a teratoma. Intraoperative frozen section and final pathology revealed bilateral teratoma with follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma arising in the left ovary. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of malignant struma ovarii in combination with bilateral teratoma. The dilemmas related to preoperative diagnoses with elevated CA-125 levels, mimicking an epithelial ovarian neoplasm; intraoperative frozen section consultation; management and follow-up issues in this rare malignancy are discussed.     

Benign and malignant struma ovarii

Three cases of struma ovarii are reported, two of which were benign, and one which was malignant. Immunoperoxidase studies confirmed that the tumors secreted triiodothyronine and thyroxine, but no carcinoembryonic antigen nor alpha-fetoprotein. In the case of the malignant struma ovarii, the patient's thyroid was histologically normal, and thus the possibility of a metastasis to the ovary from a primary thyroid carcinoma was excluded.     

RAS Mutation-Positive Follicular Variant of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Arising in a Struma Ovarii

Struma ovarii is an ovarian mature teratoma composed exclusively or predominantly of thyroid tissue. Malignant transformation of struma ovarii is rare and poorly understood, although this process is thought to be similar to carcinogenesis in malignant tumors of differentiated thyroid tissue originating in the thyroid gland. Genetic alterations in the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway, including mutations of BRAF, RAS, and RET genes, have been implicated in the development of differentiated thyroid carcinoma arising in the thyroid gland. We report here a case with RAS mutation detected in a malignant struma ovarii. The patient is a 38-year-old female who had a 2.4 cm ovarian cyst noted incidentally on a first trimester ultrasound. She proceeded to ovarian cystectomy post-delivery, with pathologic examination detecting a papillary thyroid carcinoma, follicular variant, arising in a cystic teratoma. The tumor was tested for BRAF, RAS, and RET/PTC mutations. HRAS codon 61 mutation was identified. This is the first report of RAS mutation detected in the follicular variant of papillary carcinoma arising in a struma ovarii. It provides evidence that tumors developing in this setting involve molecular mechanisms similar to those implicated in tumors developing in the thyroid gland.     

Malignant struma ovarii: a case report and review of the literature

A 45-year-old woman with papillary carcinoma arising in struma ovarii which involved one ovary without dissemination is presented. Total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy were performed. Histopathological examination revealed malignant struma ovarii of the papillary type. The flow cytometric analysis revealed an hypodiploid DNA content (DNA index:0.67). Since these are rare tumors, there is no universal exact protocol for the treatment and follow-up of patients with malignant struma ovarii. More data are needed to determine the prognosis and management in preferring mode of therapy.     

Coexisting Brenner tumor and struma ovarii in the right ovary: case report and review of the literature

A bilateral ovarian tumor composed of mixed Brenner tumor and struma ovarii in the right ovary and mature cystic teratoma in the left ovary, is described. Mixed Brenner tumor and struma ovarii is rare; eight cases are reviewed. In this case, in addition to the typical Brenner tumor and struma ovarii, some nests composed of both Brenner tumor and struma ovarii in one nest were found in the right ovarian tumor. Immunohistochemically, the struma ovarii is stained for thyroglobulin, and Brenner nests showed various degrees of positive stain for thyroglobulin, which is a specific finding. Brenner tumor, in this case, may produce thyroglobulin or have a receptor to thyroglobulin or analog of thyroglobulin. The origin of mixed Brenner tumor and struma ovarii may be germ cell, as described in some literature, or the Brenner tumor may be of a metaplastic nature, although the Brenner tumor is fourfold the size of struma ovarii in the case presented.     

Malignant struma ovarii: a case report

Malignant struma ovarii is a rare form of the ovarian germ cell tumors. Hence, diagnosis and management of malignant struma ovarii have not been clearly defined. We present the case of a 34-year-old woman with papillary carcinoma arising in struma ovarii. The malignant component of this tumor was detected after laparoscopic removal, and a re-staging operation was performed afterwards. There was no evidence of clinical malignancy or metastases. In this paper, clinical features, treatment guidelines, diagnostic features, and immunohistochemical characteristics of this tumor are reviewed.     

Primary pelvic retroperitoneal malignant fibrous histiocytoma in a female with high-grade recurrence

Myxofibrosarcoma or malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) is the most common soft tissue sarcoma. However, primary pelvic and retroperitoneal myxoid is an extremely rare tumor. We report a case of a 49-year-old woman diagnosed with primary MFH originating from the left gluteal muscle and presenting with a large pelvic mass. A 49-year-old woman G0 presented with a 3-year history of progressive left leg sciatica pain, left lower extremity edema, and a pelvic mass consistent with low-grade malignant fibrous histiocytoma upon surgical resection. Despite adjuvant radiotherapy (RT), she developed recurrence underwent within 7 months. She underwent repeat surgical resection with histopathology showing a MFH with high-grade features. We describe this case and review the literature of MFH. MFH of the pelvis and retroperitoneum is extremely rare. It has a high mortality rate and short overall survival. The tumor is characterized by local invasion, while lymph node or vascular metastases are uncommon. Complete tumor resection is the best primary treatment and is usually followed by adjuvant RT or chemotherapy. These patients must have close observation for local recurrence.     

Ovarian cystic tumor composed of Brenner tumor and struma ovarii

Ovarian tumor composed only of Brenner tumor and struma ovarii is very rare; only 6 cases have been reported in the English literature, to the best of the author's knowledge. A 66-year-old woman underwent right oophorectomy because of torsion of right ovarian cyst. Macroscopically, the ovarian cyst was hemorrhagic and red. Cystic content was hemorrhagic fluid. Microscopically, the cyst walls were composed only of Brenner tumor (50% in area) and struma ovarii (50% in area). Hemorrhage and ischemic changes were seen. Other elements were not recognized. No malignant transformation was noted. These two elements were separately present, and no mergers between them were recognized. Immunohistochemically, the Brenner tumor element was positive for cytokeratins (AE1/3 and CAM5.2) and Ki67 (labeling=3%), but negative for thyroglobulin, TTF-1, p53, CA125, and vimentin. The struma ovarii element was positive for cytokeratins (AE1/3 and CAM5.2), thyroglobulin, TTF-1 and Ki67 (labeling=5%), but negative for p53, CA125 and vimentin. The findings suggests that there were cases of ovarian cyst composed only of Brenner tumor and struma ovarii, that such a case may be monodermal mature cystic teratoma or the Brenner tumor element was derived from surface epithelium in the preexisting struma ovarii, and that such a tumor manifest as cystic torsion.     

Infertility: Metastatic ovarian strumosis in an in-vitro fertilization patient

Malignant struma ovarii is a very rare tumour, with considerablecontroversy concerning the necessary histologic features formalignancy. Still more infrequent is the condition termed ‘metastaticovarian strumosis’ or simply ‘benign strumosis orstrumatosis’ and characterized by the presence of peritonealimplants of mature thyroid tissue occurring in struma ovarii.‘Strumosis’ should not be confused with malignancy.Presented is a case of ‘metastatic ovarian strumosis’in a 36-year-old woman with primary infertility who underwentthree in-vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles with ovarian stimulation.She received hormonal treatment for 6 months after her lastIVF because of ‘persistent enlarged ovarian follicles’which were in fact ‘thyroid follicles’.     

Case report: Malignant struma ovarii

Struma ovarii are specialized teratomas consisting of thyroid tissue with various microscopic features, ranging from benign to malignant. We report a rare form of malignant struma ovarii, composed exclusively of a follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma with capsular invasion, which occurred in a 65-yr-old woman.     

Imprint cytology of strumal carcinoid of the ovary: A case report with immunocytochemical analysis

Strumal carcinoid is a rare ovarian tumor defined as carcinoid associated with struma ovarii. We report here the second cytological case of strumal carcinoid and performed immunocytochemical analysis for the first time. A 68‐year‐old Japanese female was found to have a solid tumor with small cystic components in the left ovary, and bilateral salpingo‐oophorectomy was performed. The Papanicolaou smear of the imprint cytological specimen of the left ovarian tumor revealed presence of two distinct components. The first component included thyroid follicles, which was composed of flat sheets of polygonal epithelial cells without nuclear groove and intranuclear inclusion. The other component was composed of trabecular clusters of columnar cells containing round to slender nuclei with “salt and pepper” chromatin. Immunocytochemical analysis revealed that synaptophysin was expressed in the latter component. Therefore, a cytodiagnosis of strumal carcinoid was made. Histopathological analyses confirmed the diagnosis of strumal carcinoid. Albeit rare, carcinoid tumor occurs in the ovary, and the recognition of characteristic nuclear features and cellular arrangement leads to correct cytodiagnosis. Presence of struma ovarii component suggests an ovarian origin. Moreover, immunocytochemical analysis for neuroendocrine markers aids its differential diagnosis from granulosa cell tumor and carcinoma arising from struma ovarii.     

Giant cell malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the breast: a case report

A case of primary malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the breast is reported. The patient was a 48-yr-old woman with a huge tumor involving almost the entire left breast. The central portion of her left breast was already rotted by extensive necrosis and inflammation. She was treated by radical mastectomy and axillary lymphadenectomy to level I. Pathologic examination supported by an immunohistochemical staining confirmed the tumor as malignant fibrous histiocytoma of giant cell type. Axillary lymph nodes were free from tumor metastasis. She had not taken any postoperative adjuvant therapy. The metastasis to lungs was found 2 months after the operation, and she died within 6 months.     

Primary malignant mixed tumor of bone: a case report

Background: An extremely rare primary mixed tumor occurring in left proximal femurs of a 47-year old female is reported. Case report: She had left hip pain for three months in April 2004. Radiological examinations revealed that a translucent expansive lesion in the left greater trochanter. She received the curettage of lesion and bone graft surgery. Curettage specimens were diagnosed as malignant mixed tumor, considered to be metastatic. Five months late the lesion recurred. She underwent obturator neurotomy plus total hip replacement of left hip. A long-term of more than ten years follow-up showed there were no evidence of disease recurrence or metastasis and no any signs of other tumor in her body. Discussion: The tumor contained myoepithelial component with positive immunostain of S-100 protein, p63, CK-pan, and vimentin, epithelial component confirmed by CK-pan, CK-LMW and cartilage, which indicated the tumor was a mixed tumor. Cellular atypia, relative high mitosis index, cartilage consistent with grade I chordrosarcoma, focal coagulative necrosis, and infiltration between trabeculae found in the tumor indicated that the tumor had a low grade malignant nature. During long-time follow-up there were no signs of any tumor found in the patient, which strongly suggested that the tumor be a primary one.     

Highly differentiated follicular carcinoma of ovary: Use of imprint cytology at intraoperative consultation

Highly differentiated follicular carcinoma of ovary (HDFCO) is a rare entity known to arise in struma ovarii. Clinical presentation and radiological features mimic other cystic ovarian neoplasm. Thus, intraoperative diagnosis of this entity can be challenging. We hereby report a HDFCO case of a 52‐year‐old woman, who presented with significant abdominal bloating for 3 months. Imaging showed a 11.7 cm left adnexal‐mixed cystic and solid mass, adhering to the bowel with ascites. The mass was examined intraoperatively and showed multilocular cysts filled with straw or red brown‐colored gelatinous fluid. Microscopically, the tumor consisted of small and large follicles with proteinous material and bland‐looking cuboidal cells, suspicious for struma ovarii or granulosa cell tumor with extensive cystic changes, while imprint cytology slides showed watery colloid with cracking artifact favoring the former. However, the adherence to the bowel suggested HDFCO, and prompted surgical staging. The histology of the ovarian mass in the permanent section resembled goiterous thyroid tissue with invasion of endocervical stroma, uterine wall and colonic serosa, and presence of tumor nodules in omentum leading to the diagnosis of HDFCO. Due to striking resemblance of HDFCO to benign thyroid goiter, searching for invasive and metastatic foci is crucial for correct diagnosis. In addition, intraoperative imprint cytology revealing colloid with cracking artifact is helpful for differentiating struma ovarii and/or HDFCO from other ovarian lesions.     

Postpartum silent thyroiditis simulating a malignant lymphoma of the thyroid

A case of postpartum silent thyroiditis simulating a malignant lymphoma of the thyroid is reported. The patient was a 30-yr-old female who had received irradiation thearapy to the neck for malignant lymphoma of the thyroid 9 yr previously. She was referred to our department because of a struma associated with acute aggravation of chronic thyroiditis after parturition. In this case, the mechanism of the disease was explained by the “immune rebound hypothesis”. It was difficult to differentiate postpartum silent thyroiditis from malignant lymphoma of the thyroid, either clinically or cytologically, when the immune-rebound phenomenon with lymphocytic infiltration and the appearance of lymphoid follicles were prominent. The immunological status of patients with chronic thyroiditis accompanied by morphological changes should be taken into consideration before establishing the diagnosis of malignant lymphoma of the thyroid.     

Sternal osteomyelitis caused by Aspergillus fumigatus in a patient with previously treated Hodgkin's disease

This report details the case of a 67 year old woman with sternal osteomyelitis caused by Aspergillus fumigatus. She was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease in 1975 and was successfully treated with chemotherapy. A lobectomy for recurrence localised to the left lung was complicated nine years later by severe bronchiectasis, for which she required a total left sided pneumonectomy. At surgery, a non-invasive aspergillus was found. She presented eight years later with symptoms that were initially attributed to recurrence of Hodgkins's disease, but on investigation were found to be caused by fungal sternal osteomyelitis. Treatment with itraconazole suspension at a dose of 400 mg daily was successful.