Ovarian metastasis in a nulliparous woman with endometrial adenocarcinoma failing conservative hormonal treatment

BACKGROUND: There have been several reports about successful fertility-preserving treatment of endometrial carcinoma with subsequent pregnancy. However, conservative hormonal treatment for early-stage endometrial cancer still entails some risk. CASE: We present a 36-year-old nulliparous woman, initially diagnosed as clinical stage IA, grade 1 endometrial adenocarcinoma, receiving 6-month conservative treatment with remission achieved at 4 months from diagnosis. Recurrence at the endometrium was documented at the end of treatment. She underwent a definitive surgery including total hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and pelvic lymph node dissection. The final pathology revealed well-differentiated endometrioid adenocarcinoma with inner one-third myometrial invasion and right ovarian metastasis. CONCLUSION: This case report signals a warning that negative preoperative imaging studies are not reassuring for a relapsing low-grade, early-stage endometrial carcinoma failing conservative treatment.