Benign metastasizing leiomyoma of the lung – case report and brief review of the literature

Abstract

Benign metastasizing leiomyoma is a rarely described disease characterized by extrauterine leiomyomatous lesions seen in premenopausal women with a history of uterine leiomyoma. Here, we present the case of a 47 year-old female who has undergone total hysterectomy for uterine leiomyoma at the age of 35. In 2012, eleven years after the hysterectomy, multiple pulmonary nodular lesions and a left ovary cyst were incidentally discovered during routine medical investigations. She underwent left salpingo-oophorectomy and resection of the pulmonary metastases. The histological and immunohistochemical findings led to the diagnosis of benign metastasizing leiomyoma. During 3 years of observation after the diagnosis was established, she presented with progressive disease, although she was under medroxyprogesterone acetate therapy. The therapy was substituted with aromatase inhibitors and the disease became stable. We present this case due to the rarity of this condition and also because it is a rare clinical presentation with an interesting therapeutic strategy.