A rare occurrence of a malignant ovarian steroid cell tumor not otherwise specified: A case report and literature review

Abstract

Steroid cell tumors not otherwise specified (NOS) are a rare subgroup of sex cord-stromal tumors. The tumors can occur at any age, although the mean age of occurrence is 43 years old. The majority are benign, but have the capability of producing one or more steroids associated with virilization. The present study reports the case of a 29-year-old female who presented to the Second Xiangya Hospital suffering from lower back and leg pain that had persisted for five months. The patient had regular menstrual cycles and no virilization symptoms were present. Laboratory investigations revealed normal hormone levels. Multiple areas of bone destruction and a right ovarian mass were confirmed via positron emission tomography/computed tomography. The patient underwent an exploratory laparotomy, and a mass measuring ~6 cm in diameter was subsequently identified in the right ovary. A right salpingo-oophorectomy and pelvic washings for cytology were performed. Histopathological studies confirmed the diagnosis of a malignant steroid cell tumor NOS of the right ovary. The patient underwent eight cycles of chemotherapy (docetaxel, 120 mg and nedaplatin, 80 mg). The patient continued to have relatively good health, with no deterioration of the condition for one year and a half, however, the disease progressed and the patient succumbed to brain metastases six months later.

Ovarian Steroid Cell Tumor (Not Otherwise Specified): A Case Report of Ovarian Hyperandrogenism

“…There are steroid cell tumors that cannot be categorized as either stromal luteomas or Leydig cell tumors. This group of tumors accounts for 60% of all ovarian steroid cell tumors [3][4][5].…”

Malignant Ovarian Steroid Cell Tumor Causing Severe Hyperandrogenism: Case Report And Review Of The Literature

“…There are only a few reports of the use of chemotherapy, and these are summarized in Table 1. Recommended chemotherapeutic regimens include: cisplatin, etoposide and bleomycin; cisplatin, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide; platinum and taxane; and bleomycin, vinblastine, and cisplatin (13,14). Interestingly, we note the conspicuous lack of reports using the adrenolytic agent mitotane, which is used routinely for the histogenetically related adrenocortical carcinoma.…”

“…The peritoneal cavity is the most common area of metastasis (4). Distant metastasis is very rare, though there are reported cases of extensive bony metastases (8,13). Hayes and Scully (4) reported pelvic recurrence in 12 patients despite chemotherapy and external-beam radiation treatment.…”

Cytological Findings of Ascitic Fluid with a Malignant Ovarian Steroid Cell Tumor: A Case Report and Literature Review

“…The chemotherapy regimen and outcome were not available for 1 patient [11] . Of the remaining 5, including ours, 2 experienced recurrence, and 3 are alive without recurrence [9,12,14,16] . However, of the 5 patients who did not receive any adjuvant therapy, all experienced recurrence [10,13,15,16] .…”

“…This shows that chemotherapy is at least somewhat effective, especially when used as postsurgical adjuvant treatment in relatively early-stage disease, a category that includes our patient [9,16] . For advanced or recurrent disease, the clinical significance of chemotherapy is uncertain [10,12,14] . Optimizing chemotherapy treatment for SCT remains a challenge.…”