Paraneoplastic myositis secondary to poorly differentiated serous carcinoma of ovarian/tubal origin

Abstract

HighlightsOvarian cancer can present as paraneoplastic myositis.Presented with progressive weakness unresponsive to treatment with glucocorticoidsImaging revealed bilateral ovarian masses, myositis resolved after surgery.Ovarian cancer should be included on the differential diagnosis of a patient presenting with myositis.

Polymyositis as a presentation of advanced carcinoma of Mullerian origin: A case report and discussion

“…We searched PubMed using combinations of the following MESH search terms: polymyositis, dermatomyositis, ovarian cancer, mullerian, and cancer. We were able to identify 6 clearly documented presentations of polymyositis, without dermatomyositis, associated with gynecologic malignancies ( Davis and Ahmed, 1997 ; Ghosh et al, 2007 ; Iavazzo et al, 2007 ; Kalogiannidis et al, 2008 ; Raizman et al, 2017 ).…”

“…Of the documented cases in the literature, four patients presented with limited stage (Stage III) disease and underwent surgical resection ( Davis and Ahmed, 1997 ; Kalogiannidis et al, 2008 ; Raizman et al, 2017 ). Of these, two patients' treatment courses were documented; both received steroid immunosuppression and systemic chemotherapy with reported control of disease ( Kalogiannidis et al, 2008 ; Raizman et al, 2017 ).…”

“…Of the documented cases in the literature, four patients presented with limited stage (Stage III) disease and underwent surgical resection ( Davis and Ahmed, 1997 ; Kalogiannidis et al, 2008 ; Raizman et al, 2017 ). Of these, two patients' treatment courses were documented; both received steroid immunosuppression and systemic chemotherapy with reported control of disease ( Kalogiannidis et al, 2008 ; Raizman et al, 2017 ). One patient was reported to have an improved functional status, and one had an incomplete remission of PM symptoms after steroid treatment ( Kalogiannidis et al, 2008 ; Raizman et al, 2017 ).To our knowledge, only one case of recurrent ovarian cancer and one case of metastatic ovarian cancer have been associated with PM ( Ghosh et al, 2007 ; Iavazzo et al, 2007 ).…”

“…Of these, two patients' treatment courses were documented; both received steroid immunosuppression and systemic chemotherapy with reported control of disease ( Kalogiannidis et al, 2008 ; Raizman et al, 2017 ). One patient was reported to have an improved functional status, and one had an incomplete remission of PM symptoms after steroid treatment ( Kalogiannidis et al, 2008 ; Raizman et al, 2017 ).To our knowledge, only one case of recurrent ovarian cancer and one case of metastatic ovarian cancer have been associated with PM ( Ghosh et al, 2007 ; Iavazzo et al, 2007 ). The only other patient to present with metastatic ovarian cancer and symptoms of PM did not undergo treatment with systemic chemotherapy ( Ghosh et al, 2007 ).…”

“…Atypical presentations of paraneoplastic phenomena, however, continue to present a challenge to the timely diagnosis of new malignancies. For instance, while dermatomyositis has been clearly associated with ovarian cancer ( Stockton et al, 2001 ), polymyositis (without dermatologic features) has only been identified as a presenting symptom of ovarian cancer in rare case reports ( Davis and Ahmed, 1997 ; Ghosh et al, 2007 ; Iavazzo et al, 2007 ; Kalogiannidis et al, 2008 ; Raizman et al, 2017 ). Because of its rare and atypical presentation, we present a case of carcinoma of Mullerian origin, initially presenting with symptoms of polymyositis (PM).…”