Introduction
Malignant tumors of fallopian tube are very rare. The most common
histological type is adenocarcinoma. Sarcomas occur infrequently
and carcinosarcomas or Malignant mixed mullerian tumors (MMMT)
are very rare. These highly aggressive tumors are composed of both
malignant epithelial and stromal elements and usually have poor
prognosis. Most patients of MMMT fallopian tube present with non-
specific symptoms like abdominal pain or distension or abnormal
vaginal bleeding. In a great majority of cases the diagnosis is not
made until the time of surgery or histological evaluation. Data are
limited, but primary cytoreductive surgery followed by platinum
based chemotherapy seems to be effective.
Case presentation
We present the case of 49 year old perimenopausal female,
P2L2, who came to our institute in November 2014 with the chief
complaints of irregular and heavy bleeding for the past 3 months.
On examination the general condition of patient was stable with a
pulse rate of 88/minute and blood pressure of 128/78 mm Hg. On
per-abdomen examination, a mass was palpable in the lower abdomen
arising from the pelvis and the same mass was palpable on the per-
vaginal examination. Her CA125 level was 136 U/ml while her CA19-
9 and CEA levels were normal. Her CBC was normal, Hb-9.9 g/dl,
TLC-9000/mm3, Platelet count-2.3 lakh/mm3. MRI suggested a right
adenexal mass of 9.3 x 5.4 x 6.6 cm adherent to the adjacent rectal
wall with no other evidence of disease. Endometrial biopsy revealed
secretory endometrium with no evidence of malignancy. Cervical
cytology was also normal. A pre-operative diagnosis of malignant
ovarian tumor was made.
She underwent exploratory laparotomy. Per-operatively the
upper abdomen was normal. About 50 ml of haemorrhagic fluid
was present in the pelvis. Left fallopian tube was dilated to about
10 x 5 cm with smooth outer surface. Bilateral ovaries, uterus and
right tube was apparently normal while the bladder peritoneum
appeared suspicious. She underwent total abdominal hysterectomy
with bilateral salpingo-oopherectomy (TAH with BSO), which was
malignant on frozen section and this was followed by B/L pelvic nodal
dissection, retroperitoneal lymph node sampling, total omentectomy,
appendicectomy, bladder peritonectomy, multiple peritoneal biopsies
and fluid for cytology.
Histopathological findings
Gross description- Right fallopian tube was enlarged and expanded
to 9 x 5 x 5 cm. The serosal surface was smooth with no breach.
The luminal surface showed a friable, polypoidal, yellowish white
haemorrhagic tumor8.3 x 4.8 x 4.7 cm.
Histological description: The tumor was composed of
malignant epithelial as well as mesenchymal component. The
epithelial component was in the form of high grade endometrioid
adenocarcinoma. The mesenchymal component was composed of
high grade spindle cells with marked pleomorphism, brisk mitosis
and extensive areas of necrosis (Figure 1). The tumor was infiltrating
into the wall of fallopian tube, however serosal breach was not
identified. Lymphovascular invasion was not seen. B/L ovaries,
left fallopian tube, uterus, omentum, appendix, peritoneal biopsies,
bladder peritoneum, pelvic and retroperitoneal lymph nodes were free
of tumor. Peritoneal fluid was negative for malignant cells. So a final
diagnosis of MMMT (carcinosarcomas) of fallopian tube, stage IA
(FIGO 2014) was made. The patient received 6 cycles of cisplatin,
ifosfamide and paclitaxel (TIP) based chemotherapy and presently the
patient is alive with no evidence of disease with a follow up period of
about 28 months.
Discussion
Primary MMMT of fallopian tube are rare (less than 4% of all
gynaecological carcinosarcomas), which most frequently occur in
the endometrium, vagina, cervix and ovary in descending order of
Obstet Gynecol Int J. 2017;7(6):349‒350. 349
©2017 Jain et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which
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Malignant Mixed Mullerian T umor of Fallopian T ube:
A Case Report
Volume 7 Issue 6 - 2017
Vandana Jain, Rupinder Sekhon, Shveta Giri,
Sudhir Rawal
Department of Uro-Gynae Oncology, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer
Institute and Research Centre, India
Correspondence: Vandana Jain, Fellow Gynecologic Oncology,
Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre, Sector
5, Rohini, New Delhi, India, T el 919910700788, Fax 91-11-
27051037, Email
Received: April 18, 2017 | Published: August 15, 2017
Abstract
We report a case of malignant mixed mullerian tumor (MMMT) of fallopian tube in a 49
year old female who presented to our institute in November 2014 with the chief complaints
of irregular and excessive bleeding per vaginum for 3 months. MRI of the patient revealed a
right adenexal complex mass of 9 x 5 x 7 cm. Her CA125 level was 136 U/ml, whileCA19-9
and CEA levels were normal. Her cervical cytology was normal and preoperative
endometrial curetting revealed secretory endometrium. A malignant ovarian tumor was
suspected and the patient was taken up for staging surgery. On final histopathology it was
MMMT of right fallopian tube, stage IA. She received 6 cycles of cisplatin, ifosfamide and
paclitaxel (TIP) based chemotherapy. Presently she is alive with no evidence of disease
with a follow up period of 28 months. This case report suggests that prognosis of early stage
MMMT is good, especially if there is no deep infiltration of the muscle layer of fallopian
tube and the peritoneal cytology is negative. Chemotherapy using a platinum drug after
surgery seems to be the most effective treatment in this disease.
Keywords
MMMT of fallopian tube, Platinum based chemotherapy, Staging surgery
Obstetrics & Gynecology International Journal
Case Report
Open Access
Malignant Mixed Mullerian Tumor of Fallopian Tube: A Case Report
350
Copyright:
©2017 Jain et al.
Citation: Jain V, Sekhon R, Giri S, et al. Malignant Mixed Mullerian T umor of Fallopian T ube: A Case Report. Obstet Gynecol Int J. 2017;7(6):349‒350.
DOI: 10.15406/ogij.2017.07.00268
frequency.1,2 In our study the age of the patient was 49 yrs. In a review
most patients were in the fifth or sixth decade of life, with a mean age
of 57.5 years. 1 Most of the patients with MMMT of fallopian tube
present with nonspecific symptoms. In a review, frequent symptoms
were abdominal pain or distension (47.9%) followed by atypical
genital bleeding (34.2%). 3 It has been noted that postmenopausal
bleeding or spotting with negative cervical cytology and endometrial
curetting should raise the suspicion of tubal malignancy, 4 as was the
case in our patient. The diagnosis is usually not made until the time of
surgery, with the most common pre-operative diagnosis being ovarian
malignancy.1 Our patient was also diagnosed as malignant ovarian
tumor prior to surgery.
Surgical procedures at laparotomy should include collection
of washings for cytology, a thorough exploration of all peritoneal
surfaces, omentectomy, pelvic and retroperitoneal lymph node
sampling and peritoneal biopsies in addition to TAH with BSO.
A maximal effort at tumor cytoreduction is emphasized similar to
ovarian cancer and adenocarcinoma of fallopian tube.5
The prognosis of patients with MMMT of fallopian tube is
usually poor. Extra tubal spread is the most important prognostic
factor which is same as primary adenocarcinoma of fallopian tube.
MMMT of fallopian tube is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage.
In a recent review only about 32.3% patients were stage I. The 3 year
survival was 62.7% for stage I/II patients and 39.8% for stage III/IV
patients.3 There is increasing evidence that adjuvant platinum based
chemotherapy used alone or in combination with radiotherapymay
improve the survival in cases of tubal MMMT.2,3,6 In a recent review,
Ifosfamide based chemotherapy (IEP) appeared to be a promising
regiment for this disease. 3 GOG has also reported a high level of
benefit for ifosfamide and cisplatin in uterine carcinosarcomas. 7 In
the present case report the patient was stage I MMMT of fallopian
tube and received platinum based chemotherapy (TIP) after staging
surgery. The patient is alive with no evidence of disease after 28
months of follow up.
Conclusion
In conclusion, MMMT of fallopian tube is associated with poor
prognosis, although in early stage the prognosis is not that bad,
especially if there is no deep infiltration of the wall of fallopian tube.
Primary cytoreductive surgery followed by adjuvant platinum based
chemotherapy is the most effective treatment available at present.
Acknowledgements
We would like to say special thanks to Dr. Anila Sharma and Dr.
Parul Tanwar for providing the histopathology pictures to us.
Conflicts of Interest
No financial interest or conflicts of interest exist.
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