Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
Citation:
Weerakkody Y, Luong D, Shetty A, et al. Primary pulmonary choriocarcinoma. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 25 Apr 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-20560
Primary pulmonary choriocarcinoma (PPC) is a type of non gestational choriocarcinoma which originates in the lung. It is an extremely rare entity.
Presentation can be variable ranging from dyspnea, cough and chest pain, to weight loss. Some patients may present with hemoptysis. On occasion it may be routinely discovered as an incidental lung mass / lesion 5.
Markers
Serum beta HCG levels tend to be elevated - and may drop following resection and therapy 6.
Management and prognosis
In contrast to gestational choriocarcinoma, primary pulmonary choriocarcinomas are considered generally unresponsive to surgical and chemotherapeutic treatment and are thought to carry a much poorer prognosis (with 5 year survival being under 5%). At the time of initial writing, resection followed by adjuvant chemotherapy is considered to be the most effective 1.
When a suspected lung lesion demonstrates "choriocarcinoma" on histology following biopsy - the main differential consideration is metastatic choriocarcinoma to lung.
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5. Serno J, Zeppernick F, Jäkel J et-al. Primary pulmonary choriocarcinoma: case report and review of the literature. Gynecol. Obstet. Invest. 2012;74 (2): 171-6. doi:10.1159/000336784 - Pubmed citation
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6. Vegh GL, Szigetvári I, Soltesz I et-al. Primary pulmonary choriocarcinoma: a case report. J Reprod Med. 2008;53 (5): 369-72. - Pubmed citation
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7. Pushchak MJ, Farhi DC. Primary choriocarcinoma of the lung. Arch. Pathol. Lab. Med. 1987;111 (5): 477-9. - Pubmed citation
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8. Van nostrand KM, Lucci JA, Liao SY et-al. Primary lung choriocarcinoma masquerading as a metastatic gestational neoplasm. Gynecol. Oncol. 1994;53 (3): 361-5. doi:10.1006/gyno.1994.1148 - Pubmed citation
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