Case Report Abstract
Full Text Article May be Ordered from Academic Press online.
Copyright 2000 Academic Press.
Gynecol Oncol 2000 Jan;76(1):123-5 pp. 123-125 (doi:10.1006/gyno.1999.5617)

Vaginal adenosarcoma arising from endometriosis

Patricia L. Judson*,  Ana Maria Temple+,  Wesley C. Fowler+,^ ,  Debra B. Novotny+, §,  William K. Funkhouser+, §

Objective: Malignant transformation of endometriosis has been well documented. Endometrioid adenocarcinoma is the most common malignancy to occur in this setting, although other carcinomas and rarely stromal tumors can be seen. We present the first case in the literature of adenosarcoma, a rare mixed mullerian or mesodermal tumor, arising in extrauterine vaginal endometriosis.

Case: A 42-year-old woman underwent multiple medical therapies and surgeries for aggressive endometriosis. A pelvic exenteration was abandoned secondary to severe fibrosis, and low-dose radiotherapy was used to control bleeding from vaginal endometriosis. The pathologic diagnosis of recurrent endometriosis was confirmed multiple times over her 4-year course. Excision of a recurrent vaginal mass revealed adenosarcoma with heterologous elements.

Conclusion:  It is important to biopsy or excise recurrent endometriosis, as malignant transformation can occur, giving rise to epithelial, stromal, or mixed epithelial-mesenchymal tumors.

Key Words:  endometriosis; adenosarcoma; vaginal cancer

Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

*Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55455
^Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology / §Department of Pathology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599